Help Me
by Ferret Girl
Summary: Now that Kaiba is gone, Tea and Malik have to work together to protect the people that they love. MalikTea pairing.
1. Default Chapter

Help Me  
  
A/N: This is a break from my usual Yami/Tea fic. This is a Kaiba/Tea fic.  
  
It was a Monday afternoon. There was only fifteen more minutes of school left that day.  
  
Tea wasn't looking forward to going home from school. She knew what was going to  
  
happen. Her mom died when she was only five, and when she died her father was so  
  
devastated. He developed a drinking problem thinking it would help him, but it only hurt  
  
him, and Tea. Tea would go home and find him drunk all of the time. Whenever he was  
  
drunk she knew what was coming, he beat her. Whenever he did she didn't want anyone  
  
to know about it, so she covered it up. All of the sudden the bell rang. Oh great. Tea  
  
thought. She got up from her seat. "Hey Tea!" She heard someone call. She turned  
  
around. It was Joey. "Tea, we were wondering if you would like to come back to the  
  
game shop and hang out with us?" He asked her. "Sorry Joey, but I have a lot of  
  
homework I need to get done." She told him. "Oh." Joey said "Maybe tomorrow.  
  
"Yeah, tomorrow." Tea said with a weak smile on her face. "See ya later." Joey said.  
  
"Bye." Answered Tea. Kaiba overheard there conversation. Hmmm. He thought. I'm  
  
in all of Tea's classes, and we didn't have homework in any of them. I wonder what she's  
  
hiding... Oh well, what do I care. He turned around and left the classroom. Kaiba  
  
wouldn't admit it, but he had strong feelings for Tea. He had liked her ever since he met  
  
her in seventh grade. He just wouldn't admit his feelings for her.  
  
Tea was walking home from school. She was almost to her house. I hope he doesn't  
  
notice me come in. Tea thought to herself. As she walked up the sidewalk to her house,  
  
she said a little prayer in her head. Dear Lord, please keep me safe, please don't let my  
  
dad hurt me. Amen. Tea walked into the house. Her dad was sitting in his chair with a  
  
beer in his hand. "Where have you been?" Her father asked. "I was just walking home  
  
from school." Tea answered. "Don't get smart with me young lady." He said. He got  
  
up from his chair, walked over to her and hit her so hard, that she fell over. There was a  
  
mirror hanging on the wall that broke when she hit the wall. She felt stinging pain flow  
  
throughout her arm. She looked down at it and it was covered in blood. "That will teach  
  
you for getting smart with me." Her dad said. He walked back over, and returned to his  
  
seat in the chair. Tea got up and ran upstairs to the bathroom. She locked the door.  
  
Then she washed the cut the glass had given her. She wrapped some gauze around it.  
  
Then she went into her room. She laid down on her bed and cried herself to sleep. When  
  
she woke up the next morning she got ready for school. She got her clothing on and left  
  
her room. She could hear her dad in the bathroom, throwing up. Tea went downstairs  
  
and slipped out the front door. She pulled a little mirror out of her backpack and looked  
  
at herself in it. She had a huge bruise on one of her cheeks. Oh my gosh. She thought to  
  
herself. I could never cover this up. She proceeded to walk to school. When she got to  
  
her first class she slipped in quietly. She kept her head down while all of the other kids  
  
were socializing. Yugi saw her and walked over to her. "Hey Tea!" He said cheerfully.  
  
Tea looked up at him. "Oh hey Yugi. She said. "Tea!" Yugi cried. "What happened to  
  
you!?" He looked at her surprised. "Oh you mean this?" She said. "I wasn't looking at  
  
where I was going last night and I walked right into my doorframe. Isn't that silly?" She  
  
said. "Oh." Yugi said. "Well I'm just glad you weren't seriously hurt." He said.  
  
"Yeah, me to." Tea said with a weak smile on her face. Kaiba overheard Yugi and Tea's  
  
conversation. She's lying to him. Kaiba thought to himself. She didn't get that bruise  
  
from running into her doorframe. She was hit by someone. Kaiba knew this because his  
  
stepfather used to beat him. Geography class started. The teacher told them that they had  
  
a project to work on. They were going to have partners. Tea and Kaiba were paired  
  
together. After class Kaiba walked up to Tea. "So, do you want to come to my house  
  
after school today to work on our project together?" He asked her. "I'm sorry." Tea  
  
said. "But I can't." "Well, do you want me to come to your house?" He asked her.  
  
"Ummm.... No it's okay, we'll go to your house." She said. After school that day,  
  
Tea waited for Kaiba at the school's front entrance. He met her and they both walked to  
  
his car. They got in. They rode in silence for a long time. Finally Kaiba broke the  
  
silence. "So, what do you want to do our report about?" He asked. "Ummm.. How  
  
about France? She suggested. "Sounds good to me." Kaiba said. They pulled up to his  
  
house. When they got inside, he looked at her cheek. "So what did you do?" He asked  
  
"Oh, I ran into my doorframe." Tea answered quickly. "So, where do you want to start  
  
on the report?" She asked, trying to change the subject. "No you didn't." Kaiba said.  
  
"Exuse me?" Tea asked. "I said you didn't get that bruise from running into your  
  
doorframe." He said. "Yes I did." Tea insisted." "Tea, stop lying to me. Your father  
  
hit you, didn't he? Kaiba asked. "Tea hung her head down in shame. "Yeah, he did."  
  
She said quietly. "Where else has he hit you?" Kaiba asked. "On my back." Tea said.  
  
"Turn around." Kaiba told her. He lifted up the back of her shirt. She had stripes up and  
  
down her back. When Kaiba saw them he was disgusted, sad, and angry all at the same  
  
time. "Why haven't you said anything?" Kaiba asked her. "Because, I didn't want  
  
anyone to know about it." She answered. "Come on." Kaiba commanded. "Where are  
  
we going?" Tea asked. "We're going to your house." Kaiba answered. He grabbed her  
  
hand and led her out the door. When they got there, Kaiba walked to the front door with  
  
Tea right behind him. He tried the knob and the door opened. He walked inside. Tea  
  
was standing right behind him. "Whose this?" Her father asked mockingly. He got up  
  
and jerked Tea out from behind Kaiba. He slapped her on her face. Kaiba stepped in  
  
front of him. "Don't touch her." He said sternly. "What did you just say to me?" Her  
  
father asked. "I said, don't touch her." He said again. "You have no business telling me  
  
how to raise my daughter." Tea's father said. "You have no business hitting her. Have  
  
you seen the marks on her back? Kaiba asked with a look of disgust on his face. "I said,  
  
you have no business telling me how to raise my daughter." Tea's father said again  
  
fuming. He grabbed Tea's wrist and pushed her backwards onto the floor. Tea cried out  
  
as she hit the floor. "My arm!" She cried. "Tea?" Kaiba yelled. "Look what you did!"  
  
He screamed at her father. "You hurt her worse this time!" He bent down to help her up.  
  
Tea was crying and holding her arm. He got her to her feet. Kaiba stood in front of her.  
  
"Don't touch her again." He warned. "Or you're going to pay." They both walked out  
  
of the house. They drove to the hospital. Tea got her arm x-rayed, and got a sling pit on  
  
it. "Tea, do you want to stay at my house?" Kaiba asked. Tea nodded her head. "I'm  
  
sorry." She said. "Do you want to stop at your house and gets some clothing?" Kaiba  
  
asked. Tea nodded her head. They drove back to her house. They both went inside.  
  
Tea's father was upstairs. Tea snuck up with Kaiba close behind her. Tea went into her  
  
room and got a few things. When she came out of her room, her dad was standing right  
  
in front of her. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked mockingly. He grabbed  
  
Tea and pushed her down the stairs. He started laughing. Kaiba was fuming. He went  
  
downstairs and looked at Tea, she was unconscious. He called the police. A policeman  
  
arrived first. He arrested Tea's father. "You'll pay for this!" Tea's father yelled at  
  
Kaiba. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later. They took Tea to the hospital. Kaiba  
  
was out in the waiting room with, Yugi, Yami, Bakura, Yami Bakura, Tristan, and Joey.  
  
Finally the doctor came out of her room. "How is she?" Joey asked. Everyone was  
  
eager to know. "Well....  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Well it's a cliffie!!!!! I'll be writing more soon! 


	2. The scars

Help Me  
  
"She's in critical condition, but she's going to be alright." The doctor said. Can we go  
  
see her?" Joey asked. "Yeah, go on back." The doctor answered. Please let her be okay  
  
God, please.Kaiba prayed silently. They all walked into Tea's room. She looked  
  
awful. She had bruises all over her body, and her face was all swelled. She must be in so  
  
much pain. Kaiba thought to himself. Tea opened one of her eyes, the other one was  
  
swollen shut. She smiled when she saw everyone. Hi Tea, Yugi said gently. Tea's eyes  
  
scanned over the people standing around her bed. When her eyes landed on Kaiba her  
  
smile grew even more. "Thank-you." She said to him. He walked over to her and  
  
brushed a piece of hair away from her face. Then he leaned down and kissed her  
  
forehead gently. "You're welcome." He whispered to her. Tea, I've got good news for  
  
you." Joey spoke up. "The doctor said you'll be out of here in about two weeks." Tea  
  
looked at Joey and smiled. "Thanks Joey." "Well I guess we better get going," Kaiba  
  
said. "Yeah, you need to take it easy." Yugi agreed.  
  
  
  
TWO WEEKS LATER  
  
  
  
Kaiba is picking up Tea from the hospital. "I'm so glad to be out of that  
  
depressing hospital." Tea said with a sigh of relief. They both got into the car. "I'm  
  
glad that you're out of the hospital too." Kaiba said. "Tea, I was wondering if you  
  
would want to stay with me for a while." He asked her. "I'd like that." Tea said with a  
  
smile. Kaiba smiled back. They drove to Tea's house. "Kaiba. I don't think I can go  
  
in there." Tea said. "Do you want me to go with you?" He asked her. "I can't." She  
  
said. "It would bring back too many bad memories." "Okay, we'll go get you some new  
  
clothing." Kaiba said. They drove to the mall. While they were walking Tea looked up  
  
at Kaiba. He's so sweet. She thought to herself. He really cares about me, he doesn't  
  
want me to get hurt. Tea got a lot of new clothing. When they were done shopping they  
  
drove back to his house. "Here we are." He said. He helped her get settled into her  
  
room. All of the sudden Mokuba came running out of his room. "Big brother, you're  
  
home!!!!!" He yelled. He ran over and Kaiba scooped the little boy up into his arms.  
  
"Yeah, I'm home little guy." He ruffled up his hair and Mokuba giggled. "Who's that?"  
  
He asked his brother. "This is Tea." Kaiba said. "She's going to be staying with us for a  
  
while. "Hi." Mokuba said with a shy expression on his face. "Well hi there." Tea said.  
  
"Your brother has told me a lot about you. Don't worry though, it's all good stuff.  
  
"Mokuba pulled Kaiba down to his level. "I like her." Mokuba whispered loud enough  
  
for Tea to hear him. "Yeah, I do too." Kaiba said. Kaiba looked over at Tea and smiled.  
  
Tea blushed. "I'm going to go into my room and play Zelda." Mokuba said. "I'm still  
  
having trouble with beating King Dodongo." "Okay." Kaiba said. Mokuba walked over  
  
to Tea. "It was nice meeting you Tea." "The pleasure was all mine." Tea answered him.  
  
Mokuba grinned at her and ran out of the room. "He's so sweet." Tea said. "He's very  
  
polite too." "When my parents died I took on the responsibility of raising him myself."  
  
Kaiba said. "When did your parents die?" Tea asked. "Wait, I'm sorry. You don't have  
  
to answer that." Tea said quickly. "No, It's all right." Kaiba said. They died when I  
  
was seven, and Mokuba was only two. We were put into an orphanage. Finally someone  
  
came to adopt us." "Did you miss the orphanage?" Tea asked. "Well, the first week I  
  
didn't. We were treated well. Then after that week he was very hard on us. He beat us."  
  
Tea gasped. "He beat you?" She asked with surprise. "Yeah. Really badly." He  
  
answered. "Whenever I saw him about to hit Mokuba I stopped him and took the  
  
beating. I loved my brother more than anything. I just couldn't see him get hurt." "How  
  
bad did he beat you?" She asked. Kaiba stood up unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off.  
  
When Tea looked at him she thought she was going to be sick. He had so many scars  
  
everywhere. Kaiba looked down at Tea with tears in his eyes. "This is why I had to stop  
  
your father. I couldn't let this happen to you." He sat back down on the bed. Tea was  
  
crying quietly. "Don't cry Tea." He wrapped his arms around her. He let go of her. She  
  
looked at his back. She took her hand and touched his back. Kaiba flinched. She pulled  
  
her hand away quickly. "No, it's okay." He said. "Go ahead." She gently placed her  
  
hand on his back again. "This is horrible." She said. "Tea, I-I'm sorry." Kaiba said.  
  
"Sorry for what?" She asked. "I'm sorry for not being there for you." He answered.  
  
"What are you talking about?" She asked. "If I would have known you're situation I  
  
would have taken the beatings for you." "Oh God." Tea said quietly. She lightly rubbed  
  
her hands up and down his back, trying to ease his pain. He turned around to face her.  
  
He wrapped his arms around her again. She liked the safe feeling of being held by  
  
someone. He was so strong, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. He  
  
had been through so much. After what seemed like forever, he let her go. She looked up  
  
at him with sad eyes. He gave her a light smile. "Don't worry about me Tea. It's all  
  
over. He stood up and put his shirt back on. I'm going to go downstairs. He left the  
  
room. Tea changed into a pair of pajamas. She looked at herself in the mirror. She  
  
brushed her hair out and pulled it back into a ponytail. Then she left the room and went  
  
downstairs. Kaiba was sitting on the couch watching T.V. She walked over and sat  
  
down next to him. He looked at her. She looked so cute. She was wearing a pair of  
  
shorts with clouds on them, and a matching tank-top. She snuggled up close to him. He  
  
put one of his arms around her. After a while she fell asleep on his shoulder. He sat  
  
there thinking of how lucky he was to have someone like Tea that cares about him. A  
  
couple hours later Kaiba carried Tea up to her bedroom and laid her on the bed. He gave  
  
her a kiss on the forehead and left the room.  
  
During the night Kaiba heard cries for help. He ran into Tea's room. The blankets were  
  
on the ground, and Tea was drenched in sweat. He gently touched her face. Then he put  
  
his hands on her shoulders. He shook her lightly. She woke up. When she realized  
  
Kaiba was standing over her, she wrapped her arms around his neck. He gently pulled  
  
her up to a sitting position. "You're okay Tea." Kaiba told her. Tea was gasping for air.  
  
Kaiba held her close. "Shhhhh. It's okay now. You're alright." He whispered in her  
  
ear. Tea finally calmed down a little. "Will you stay with me?" She asked him.  
  
"Yeah." He answered her. He wanted to know what she dreamed about but he didn't  
  
want to upset her. He was getting ready to lay on the floor when Tea asked if she would  
  
sleep next to her. He was unsure at first, but seeing the fear in her eyes, he couldn't tell  
  
her no. He laid next to her and held her close to him. He felt Tea's breath soft on his  
  
neck. Then he eventually drifted off to sleep. The next morning Tea woke up  
  
alone. She went downstairs and saw Mokuba eating breakfast talking to his brother about  
  
his Zelda game. When they noticed she was up Kaiba smiled. "Good-morning Tea!"  
  
Mokuba said cheerfully. "Good-morning Mokuba." Tea answered with a smile on her  
  
face. "Mokuba is going to a friends house today." Kaiba said. "That's right!" Mokuba  
  
said. "That means you two will be all alone." "Not quite." Kaiba said. "I invited Yugi  
  
over so we could hang out. Joey and Tristan went camping with Joey's dad, so they can't  
  
come." "Seto, we need to go." Mokuba said. "Okay Mokuba." Kaiba got up and  
  
walked over to grab his keys off of the counter. "I'll be back in a twenty minutes." He  
  
told Tea as he walked over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Tea blushed. "I  
  
think I'm going to grab a shower while you're gone." She said. "Okay, bye." They both  
  
walked out the door. Tea went upstairs and picked out some clothes to wear that day.  
  
That's really sweet that Kaiba invited Yugi over. She grabbed her shower, got dressed  
  
and pulled her hair into a ponytail. When she went downstairs Kaiba was sitting in a  
  
chair reading a book. He looked up from his book and smiled at her. "Hey, what are you  
  
reading?" She asked. "The Client." He answered. "That's the one by John Grisham,  
  
right? Tea asked. "Right." He answered. "He's such a great writer. I love to read  
  
stories about Law." "Really?" Kaiba asked. "Yeah, I want to go to New York to study  
  
dance but if I can't, I want to practice law." "Wow." Kaiba said. "Hey I wanted to ask  
  
you-" He started. The doorbell interrupted him. "I'll bet that's Yugi." Tea said.  
  
"Yeah." said Kaiba. They both got up and walked to the door. Kaiba opened it. "Hey  
  
Kaiba, Hey Tea." Yugi said. "Hi!" Kaiba and Tea answered at the same time. They  
  
looked at each other and laughed. "Come in Yugi." Kaiba said. They all walked into the  
  
living room. "How have you been feeling Tea?" Yugi asked. "Good, staying with  
  
Kaiba has really helped." She answered smiling at Kaiba. "That's good, I'm just glad  
  
you're safe. Yugi said.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile a man was in search of Kaiba. I remember hearing of a boy named Yugi.  
  
Maybe he knows Kaiba. The man thought to himself. He lives in the game shop with his  
  
Grandpa, maybe he knows where Kaiba lives. The man walked to the door of the game  
  
shop. He knocked and Grandpa came to the door. "Can I help you sir?" He asked.  
  
"Yes." The man said. "Does Yugi Moto live here?" "Yes." Grandpa answered. "Can I  
  
speak with him?" The man asked. "I'm sorry." Grandpa answered. "But he's not here.  
  
He's at his friend Kaiba's house." "Excuse me, who's house?" The man asked. "Oh,  
  
I'm sorry, Seto Kaiba's house. We got used to calling him Kaiba, you see it's kind of  
  
like a nick name-" The man wasn't listening to Grandpa anymore. He lost interest in the  
  
old man's story. He was trying to think of a way to get this guy to give him Kaiba's  
  
address. "Could you give me the address?" The man asked. "Of Duelist Kingdom?"  
  
Grandpa asked, obviously confused. "No, of Seto Kaiba's house." The man answered  
  
impatiently. "Why do you need it?" Grandpa asked. "Well I'm a reporter, and I'd like  
  
to speak to them on their dueling talents." The man said. "Oh, well here, let me write it  
  
down for you." Grandpa wrote the address on a piece of paper and gave it to the man.  
  
"Thank-you. The man told Grandpa, and with that he got into his car and left.  
  
  
  
"Tea." Yugi started. "That kid in our Algebra class, the one that sits in front of Bakura,  
  
asked about you on Wednesday in class." "You mean Eugene!" Tea said with a laugh.  
  
"Yeah. I think he's got a thing for you Tea!" Yugi said, and then they all  
  
three burst out laughing.  
  
  
  
The man pulled up in front of Kaiba's house. Here I am. He thought to himself. He got  
  
out of the car and made his way up to the door.  
  
Yugi, Tea, and Kaiba were all laughing, when all of the sudden they heard the  
  
doorbell ring. They all got up and started walking to the door. "Maybe it's Joey and  
  
Tristan coming over to say they got scared out there in the wild." Tea said. They all  
  
started laughing. Kaiba reached out a hand, turned the knob, and pulled the door open.  
  
When they saw who was at the door the laughing stopped immediately. "Guess what  
  
Tea?" The man started. "Daddy's home."  
  
  
  
A.N: Well that's the end of chapter two. Hope you guys liked it!( 


	3. Please don't hurt me

Help Me  
  
"What are you doing here?" Yami heard Kaiba say. Yami was inside the puzzle and he  
  
felt something strange. He felt Yugi's fear. When he heard Kaiba yell he knew  
  
something was wrong. Yami separated from Yugi. When he separated he saw Tea  
  
standing right next to Yugi with an expression of fear on her face. He saw Kaiba fighting  
  
with a strange man at the door. Yami walked over to Tea and put his arms around her  
  
and pulled backwards. "Tea, what's wrong." Yami asked. "M-my father is back." Tea  
  
answered. "Don't worry, Kaiba and I will protect you." Yami said. "Thank- you Yami.  
  
Tea said. "I have a right to take my daughter back home!" Tea's father screamed. "No  
  
you don't." Kaiba yelled back. All of the sudden Tea's father got a smirk on his face.  
  
He looked outside and waved to a guy in his car. The man stepped out of the car. He  
  
walked up to the door. To Kaiba's surprise it was a policeman. He held up a piece of  
  
paper. Kaiba took it from the man and read it. "This is a restraining order. Are you  
  
telling me I can't see Tea anymore?" Kaiba said. "Yeah." Tea's father said smirking.  
  
"But I love her!" Kaiba yelled. Tea looked up. When she heard Kaiba say those words  
  
she was in tears. "Mr. Kaiba, you're under arrest for the attempted murder of Tea  
  
Gardener. "What?!!! Yami screamed. "Kaiba would never try to murder Tea!" Tea was  
  
Sobbing. Yugi went over and put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry Tea,  
  
Yami won't let you go home with your dad." Tea was so mixed up. The policeman read  
  
Kaiba his rights. Then he got his cell phone out and called for another cop to come out  
  
and pick him up. When Kaiba was gone Yami stood in front of Tea's father. "Why did  
  
you lie to the cops?" "I couldn't confess to almost murdering my own daughter." Tea's  
  
father said with a smirk on his face. "You're sick." Yami said with a hateful look on his  
  
face. "Let Tea stay with us until the trial is over." Yugi said. "Why?" Tea's father  
  
asked. "Well it was kind of shocking for Tea that you came back." Yugi answered.  
  
"Fine but after the trial Tea comes back to live with me." Tea's father said. Then he  
  
turned around, walked back to his car, and sped away. "We have to find some way to get  
  
Kaiba out of jail." Yami said. "But how? The police won't believe Kaiba didn't do it."  
  
Tea said between sobs. Yami looked at Tea's tear-streaked face. He hated seeing Tea  
  
this way. "Don't worry Tea." Yami said. "Even if it kills me I'll get Kaiba out of prison  
  
so you two can be together." Tea threw her arms around Yami and Yugi both. "Thank-  
  
you so much you guys. You're such great friends." Yami, Yugi, and Tea walked back to  
  
the game shop. "Tomorrow I'm going to go visit Kaiba." Tea said with determination in  
  
her voice. "But how?" Yugi asked. "There's been a restraining order put on him."  
  
"Maybe if they see that I want to see Kaiba they'll forget the restraining order." "Hey,  
  
that just might work!" Yami said. All of the sudden Grandpa walked into the room.  
  
"Well hello Tea, what a pleasant surprise." He said. Hey Grandpa, is it okay if Tea stays  
  
with us for a while?" Yugi asked. "If she doesn't have a place to go she'll have to go  
  
back to live with her father." "I thought Kaiba was taking care of her." Grandpa said.  
  
"Well he was." Yami spoke up. "But he was arrested today for the attempted murder of  
  
Tea." "What!" Grandpa asked obviously surprised. "Yes." Tea said. "He's in prison  
  
awaiting trial. All he wanted to do was protect me. He didn't want me to have as much  
  
pain as he did when he was a kid." "What are you talking about Tea?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Kaiba was beaten by his step-father, and yesterday evening he showed me his scars.  
  
They're everywhere. I started to cry when I saw them, but he held me close to him and  
  
told me not to cry for him. He just wants to keep me safe." She hugged her knees to her  
  
chest. "Tea, of course you can stay with us. We'd love to have you." Grandpa said.  
  
"Tea, you can have my room and I'll take the couch." Yugi said. "Where am I going to  
  
sleep?" Yami asked. "In the puzzle." Yugi said. "I don't want to sleep in the puzzle, it  
  
gets really cramped in there." Yami complained. "Fine we'll pull out the sofa bed and  
  
we can both sleep there." Yugi said "Okay." Yami said happily. They ate dinner and  
  
talked for a while, and then Grandpa went to bed. "Hey Tea?" Yugi suddenly said.  
  
"Yeah Yugi?" Tea responded. "How come you didn't tell us about your father?" He  
  
asked. "Because I didn't want you guys to worry about me." Tea said. "But Tea, we're  
  
like sister and brother, it's our job to look out for each other. Yugi told her. "I know, I  
  
was just uncomfortable with the subject." Tea said. They all talked for a little while  
  
longer, and then they went to bed. The next morning Tea showered, put clean clothes on,  
  
and then dried her hair. She was all ready to go to the jail. She went into the living room  
  
to find Yugi still asleep. She tip-toed quietly into the kitchen. She found Yami sitting  
  
at the kitchen table. He was reading the newspaper. When he noticed that Tea was in the  
  
kitchen he looked up and smiled at her. "Good morning Yami." She said cheerfully.  
  
"Good morning Tea." He answered her. "Well I guess I'm going to start walking." She  
  
said. "Hey." Yami called. "Tea looked at him. "Would you like me to walk you?" He  
  
asked. "I was hoping you would ask." Tea said. Yami wrote Grandpa and Yugi a note  
  
and left it on the table. Then they both started walking. When they reached the county  
  
jail, Tea took a deep breath and with Yami by her side she walked into the main office.  
  
She went to the front desk and asked if she could see Kaiba. "I need you to fill out this  
  
form if you want to see him." The woman at the front desk said. Tea filled out the form  
  
and then turned it back into the woman. The woman pulled some paper work out of the  
  
filing cabinet closest to her desk. She checked through some papers. "Miss Gardener,  
  
I'm afraid I can't let you see Seto Kaiba. It seems there has been a restraining order  
  
against him." "I know." Tea said. "But you have to let me see him!!! You don't  
  
understand, I love him." The woman looked at Tea with caring eyes. "Okay I guess I  
  
can put you through to see him. Just don't let anybody find out about this." She said as  
  
she crumpled up the visitor form Tea filled out. She showed Tea and Yami where  
  
Kaiba's cell was. "I'm going to let you into his cell because he seems harmless." The  
  
woman said with a smile. Then she turned around and left. "Kaiba!" Tea squealed. She  
  
ran over and threw her arms around him. "Tea, Yami, what are you guys doing here?  
  
"We came to visit you." Tea said. "I'm so happy." Kaiba said. He wrapped his arms  
  
around Tea and hugged her close to him. "I'm so glad you're safe." Kaiba said. "I've  
  
been staying at Yami's house." Tea told him. Kaiba looked up at Yami and smiled.  
  
"Thanks." Kaiba said. Yami just smiled. So how did you guys get the lady to open the  
  
cell?" Kaiba asked. "I had to give her my phone number." Yami said. I slipped a piece  
  
of paper to her. The funny thing is though, it's not my number, it's Joey's." Tea and  
  
Kaiba both give Yami a strange look. "What? I'm sure Joey would love to go on a date  
  
with a perfectly nice woman in her forties." They all start to laugh. Kaiba slipped his  
  
arm around Tea's waist. "I wish we didn't have to be apart." Tea said. "Don't worry,  
  
I'll be out of here soon, and your father will be back in prison. I've hired the best lawyer  
  
in town." "Who did you hire?" Yami asked. "I hired Mr. Taylor, Tristan's dad." Kaiba  
  
said. "Wow!" Tea said. "You're in good hands Tristan. One time Mr. Taylor was my  
  
defense in court." Yami said. "What did you do?" Asked Tea. "I was charged with  
  
smuggling drugs in out of Mexico." Tea and Kaiba both give Yami looks filled with fear  
  
and surprise. "It's just a joke you guys." "Oh." Tea and Kaiba both said with relief.  
  
The woman from the front desk came back to the cell. "Well I guess we're being kicked  
  
out." Tea said sadly. "Yeah." Kaiba said. He hugged Tea one more time and kissed her  
  
on the forehead. "I'll miss you." He said. The woman opened the cell. Tea and Yami  
  
both walked out of the cell. "Come on out of there." The woman told Kaiba. "You get  
  
to leave too." Kaiba gave the woman a look that said are you serious? "Come on, you  
  
get to leave." The woman said again. "Why do I get to leave?" Kaiba asked. "We just  
  
got a call from a witness who saw Tea's father push her down the stairs. So we have to  
  
go arrest him again." The woman answered. "Who was it?" Kaiba asked. "He didn't  
  
want to tell us his name, but why are you worried about it? You're free to go." "Thank-  
  
you." Kaiba told her. He jumped up and gave Tea a huge hug. "Oh Kaiba! I'm so  
  
happy you're out of there!" Tea said excitedly. They all walked back to Yugi's house.  
  
When they walked in, they saw Joey, Tristan, and Yugi sitting on the couch. When Yugi  
  
saw Kaiba he jumped up and ran over to him. "How did you get out of jail?!" He asked.  
  
"A bystander called in saying that he saw from one of the windows that Tea was pushed  
  
down the stairs by her father, not me." Kaiba answered him. "That's great Kaiba!" Joey  
  
and Tristan said excitedly. "Thanks you guys." Kaiba said. "I think if you all don't  
  
mind, I'm going to go back home, it's been a long day." "Do you want me to come with  
  
you?" Tea asked. "If you want to." Kaiba told her. "Yeah, I'd like to come." She said,  
  
giving him a smile. They both got a ride to Kaiba's house by Yugi's grandpa. When  
  
they got inside Kaiba sat down on the couch and Tea sat next to him. "You don't know  
  
how much I missed you." Kaiba whispered in Tea's ear. Tea giggled a little bit because  
  
his breath tickled her ear. She snuggled up closer to him and he put his arms around  
  
tightly and pulled her close. They just sat there, looking at each other until Kaiba leaned  
  
his head down and kissed her on the lips. Tea was surprised at what he did, but then she  
  
returned the kiss. They broke away. Tea looked at him with eyes full of care and love.  
  
She loved being in his arms, and he loved holding her. Finally Tea got up from the  
  
couch. Where are you going?" Kaiba asked. "I'm going to go make dinner, if that's  
  
okay with you." She said. Kaiba thought about the last time he had a really good home  
  
cooked meal, he realized that the last time he had one was right before his mother died.  
  
"I don't mind." He said smiling at her. She smiled back, then she disappeared into the  
  
kitchen. All of the sudden the phone rang. Kaiba got up to answer it. "Hello?" He said  
  
when he picked up the phone. "My daughter's going to pay for what you did to me."  
  
Was the reply and then he hung up the phone. Kaiba laid the phone back down. Tea  
  
came walking into the room. When she saw the look on Kaiba's face, she became  
  
worried. "Who was it? What's wrong?" She asked. "That was your dad, he said."  
  
Kaiba couldn't finish what he was about to say. "What did he say?" Tea asked, her  
  
voice trembling with fear. "He said you're going to pay for what I did to your father."  
  
He said. "B-but he's supposed to be in jail." Tea said. "He may be out on bail until the  
  
trial comes around." Kaiba told her. "I have to call Yugi." Tea said. Kaiba handed her  
  
the phone. She took it from him and dialed Yugi's number. "Hello?" Came the deep  
  
voice from the other line. "Yami, this is Tea. Please come over as soon as you can. I'm  
  
afraid Kaiba and I are in trouble." She said. "Okay, I'll be over in ten minutes." Yami  
  
said hurriedly. Then he hung up the phone. "Who was it?" Yugi asked after Yami got  
  
off the phone. "It was Tea, she's afraid her and Kaiba are in trouble." Yami responded.  
  
They both told Grandpa where they were going and rushed to Kaiba's house. When Tea  
  
hung up the phone, she was shaking with fear. Kaiba stood up and held her close to him.  
  
"Don't worry." He soothed in her ear. "Everything is going to be fine." He ran his  
  
fingers gently through her hair. The doorbell rang and Kaiba was going to let go of Tea,  
  
but she held on to him. "Don't answer it." She said, her face filled with worry. "What if  
  
it's Yami?" He asked. She looked into his eyes, and then let him go. Kaiba walked over  
  
to the door. He opened it slowly and found Yugi and Yami standing there. "Kaiba, is  
  
everything okay?" Yami asked. Yugi saw Tea sitting on the couch and walked over to  
  
try to comfort her. "No, everything is not okay." Kaiba said. Tea's father is going to kill  
  
her." "I thought he was arrested." Yami said. "He's out on bail." Kaiba informed him.  
  
Tea was sitting on the couch crying. Yugi was trying to tell her everything was going to  
  
be okay. "He's going to kill me." Tea said in between sobs. "Have you called the  
  
police?" Yami asked. Kaiba shook his head. "Yugi, call the police. Tell them about  
  
what Tea's father said." Yugi picked up the phone. All of the sudden they heard the  
  
doorbell ring again. "That's him." Tea said. "Don't worry, I'll answer the door." Yami  
  
said. Kaiba went over and held Tea close to him. She buried her face in his chest like  
  
she was trying to hide from her father. He held her, and stroked her back with his hands.  
  
Yami opened the door. He was standing face to face with the person that wanted to kill  
  
his own daughter. Just be brave. He told himself in his head. "Where is she!!!???" The  
  
man screamed. "Tea is here, but you will not be allowed to see her." Yami said with all  
  
of his courage. The man pulled a gun out. "Tell me where she is." He warned. "Or I'll  
  
kill you too." Be brave. He kept telling himself. "You can't see her." He said. "Fine  
  
the man said. The next thing Yami felt was a horrible pain in his chest. Why do I hurt so  
  
much? He asked himself. He looked down at his chest and saw bright red blood pouring  
  
out of the bullet wound. I'm dying. He said in his head. He was so dizzy. So this is  
  
what it feels like to die. Everything looked as if it was in slow motion. The next thing he  
  
saw was his friends running over and standing over him. Yugi and Tea were crying, and  
  
Kaiba's eyes were welling up with tears. The next thing he heard was sirens. He gave  
  
his friends a weak smile, and then everything went black.  
  
  
  
A.N: Well that's the end of chapter three! I'll try to update it soon!( 


	4. Fun times at the beach

Help Me  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Yu-Gi-Oh, so please don't sue me; I don't have any money anyway!!!  
  
Tea, Kaiba, Joey, Tristan, Yami Bakura, and Grandpa were all sitting in the waiting room of the Domino City Hospital. Tea was softly crying with Kaiba holding her close to him, Yugi sat in a chair trying to hold back his tears, Joey and Tristan were pacing back and forth waiting for a doctor to come in to tell them about Yami, Yami Bakura was also pacing back and forth waiting, and Grandpa was sitting in a chair trying to comfort Yugi. "Where is that doctor?" Yami Bakura asked impatiently. "Calm down Bakura." Yugi's Grandpa said. Bakura shot him a hateful glance. All of the sudden the hospital doors opened. The gang looked over and saw Malik walk into the waiting room. "What's going on here Bakura? What was so urgent you had to call me to the hospital?" He asked. "Yami's been shot." Yami Bakura said. "What!!!!?????" Malik asked. "But, Yami's my dueling partner in tomorrow's tournament." Malik said. "Not only is he your dueling partner." Yami Bakura said. "He's your friend too." Malik nodded. "Whoever shot him will pay." Malik said with an evil smirk on his face. "Yeah." Joey agreed. "I wish I could have five minutes in a room with that guy." Joey said. "Not only for shooting Yami, but for what he did to Tea." He added. "What did he do to Tea?" Malik asked. "Tea was abused by her father ever since her mother died when she was little." Kaiba answered him. Malik looked even angrier. "Where is this guy??????!!!!!!!!" He yelled. "We don't know right now." Kaiba said, still holding Tea close to him. Right then a doctor came into the room. Joey, Tristan, Malik, and Yami Bakura rushed over to him. "Is Yami okay?" Joey asked. The doctor took a step backwards. "Yes, he's eating right now. We did surgery to remove the bullet and thankfully it missed his left lung. You all can go see him now." He said as he walked back through the way he came. They all followed the doctor to Yami's room. When they walked in they saw Yami sitting up with a remote in his hand flipping through channels on the television. "Is there just nothing good on T.V anymore?" He muttered to himself, completely oblivious to the fact that he had visitors. "Yami, you're okay!" Tea exclaimed. Yami looked over at the gang startled. "Hey you guys!" He exclaimed. The group walked over to his bed. "I thought the doctor said that you were eating." Joey commented, eyeing Yami's plate of food. "I refuse to eat this food." Yami said with a serious expression on his face. "I'll take it!" Joey exclaimed. "I can't wait to get out of here." Yami sighed. "The food is bad, they don't get good channels on TV, and these hospital pajamas are hideous." He complained. "I don't know Yami." Malik smirked. "The pink, fluffy, bunny pajamas suit you very well." He said. "What did you just say?!" Yami yelled. Malik put up his hands in defense. "Nothing. Anyway, I withdrew us from the contest tomorrow." He informed Yami. Yami nodded. Yami's eyes shifted from Malik to Kaiba. "Yami, thank-you so much for what you did for Tea and I." Kaiba said. "I owe my life to you." He added. Yami put a hand up to silence him. "Kaiba, you don't owe me anything, you've done things for me in the past, and this was just a payback for that." He said. Kaiba smiled warmly at Yami. He then put an arm around Tea's waist and pulled her close to him. Yami smiled at the couple. "Hey, what do you say? How about after Yami gets out of the hospital we all take a nice trip down to the beach and try to take our minds off of this whole situation?" Tristan suggested. Everyone except Malik nodded in agreement. "I'm not going to go if Yami wears a bathing suit that looks like those pajamas." He mocked. Everyone laughed, even Yami.  
  
TEN DAYS LATER  
  
Yami, Kaiba, Joey, Tea, Malik, Yugi, Yami Bakura, and Tristan were all at the beach. Yami Bakura laid a towel down on the hot sand, and then he lay back on the towel. "What are you doing?" Malik questioned him. "I'm trying to get a tan." Yami Bakura said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Malik smirked. "Is that even possible, albino boy?" He asked. Yami Bakura rolled his eyes. "Go away." He muttered. "Just because you can tan without even trying, doesn't mean that you can make fun of the people that can't." He added. Yami was dragging all of his things over to where Yami Bakura and Malik were arguing. He dropped all of his belongings and they made a loud thud on the ground. Malik eyed him suspiciously. "What all did you bring?" Malik asked. "This isn't just my stuff, it's Yugi's and Joey stuff too." He said. Malik nodded his head. Yami looked down at Yami Bakura who now had his eyes closed. Yami motioned for Malik to come closer. Malik took a couple steps forward. Yami leaned closer to him. "What is he doing?" He asked quietly. "He's trying to tan." Malik said. "Is that possible?" Yami asked. Malik shrugged his shoulders. Just then they heard Tea scream. They both looked over to see that Joey had picked Tea up and was dunking her underwater. They both let out a laugh. Yami turned and saw Kaiba walking towards them. When he got over to the group he eyed Yami Bakura suspiciously. "What is-" He started. Before he could finish his question Yami and Malik spoke up. "Just don't ask." They both said in unison. Kaiba looked at them both. "Oookay." He said. They all heard another yelp from Tea. They all looked over to see Tristan and Joey pouring ice-cold water on Tea's head. They were all laughing and looked like they were having so much fun. Kaiba smiled at this site. Tea looked up and noticed that he was watching all three of them. She shot him a playful smile. He gave a little laugh. Right then Joey picked her up again and then through her into the deep ocean water. "Malik, are you going to swim?" The sound of Yami's voice brought Kaiba back to his senses. "I don't know." Malik answered him. "I might just sit here and try to watch Yami Bakura tan." He smirked. "Ohhh, so that's what he's trying to do." Kaiba said. "I'm sorry to tell you this Bakura, but you might have better luck trying that artificial tanning lotion that women use." He added. Everyone except Yami Bakura started to laugh. Yami Bakura glared at all three of them. Just then Kaiba felt two cold, wet arms wrap around his waist from behind. He turned around and saw Tea looking at him with a playful grin on her face. "You should come into the water with us." She said. Kaiba smiled down at her. "Look at the way I'm dressed." He said. "I can't get into the water." Tea looked Kaiba over. He was wearing a pair of khaki shorts that came down a couple inches past his knees. He was also wearing a white sleeveless shirt with another plaid shirt over it. It showed off his perfectly tanned arms, and his large muscles. "Well then I'll stay up on the beach with you guys." She said. Kaiba shook his head. "No, go ahead and get in the water." He told her. Tea shook her head this time. "No, it's okay. It looks like Joey and Tristan found someone else to torture." She said with a laugh. The whole group looked as Joey and Tristan picked Yugi up. They watched as the two through him into the water. Yugi screamed like a little girl right before he hit the water. This sight made everyone laugh. "That's it." Malik said. "I have to get in. Throwing Yugi into the water sounds like too much fun to pass up." He said. "I'm right behind you." Yami yelled after Malik. They both ran down to the shoreline. Kaiba and Tea watched as Malik pushed Yami into the water. Yami let out a high-pitched scream. "Wow." Kaiba said. "I think Yami screams higher than Yugi does. Tea laughed at this comment. She grabbed his hand and started pulling him to the water. Kaiba hesitated. "Oh, c'mon Kaiba. You don't have to get in, just come down and watch us." She pleaded with him. She gave him her cutest smile. "Now how can I resist that face?" He asked out loud. He gave Tea's hand a little squeeze, and they walked down to the shoreline together. When they got down to the water, Malik, Tristan, and Joey came running over to Tea. They all three picked her up and then through her into the water. When Tea came back up for air, her hair was plastered to her face. She laughed loudly and splashed the guys with water. Kaiba smiled to himself as he watched all of them play in the water. He felt a hand on his shoulder. His back stiffened as he slowly turned around to see who was touching him. He was relieved when he saw that it was only Yami Bakura. "Kaiba, tell me something." He said. "Sure." Kaiba said. "Do I look any darker to you?" Bakura asked. Kaiba looked him over and was surprised to see that he did look unusually dark. "Yeah, you do look darker." He said. Yami Bakura got a pleased look on his face. "Now I can rub it in Malik's face." He said. "What did you do?" Kaiba asked. "I took your advice and got some of that tanning lotion. It really works." He answered. Kaiba nodded his head. "How much did you use?" Kaiba asked. "I used two whole bottles." Bakura answered him. Kaiba's eyes widened. "What?" Bakura questioned him. "Nothing." Kaiba said shaking his head. "Well, thanks Kaiba." Bakura said as he walked off into the water. Kaiba laughed to himself. He watched as Tea and Malik snuck up behind Joey and they both grabbed him and lifted him up out of the water. They both counted to three and then through him into the water. When Joey came up his hair was flat and hanging down in his face. "My beautiful hair." He whined. Malik and Tea gave each other high fives as they laughed at the sight of Joey messing with his hair. Tea made her way out of the water and walked over to where Kaiba was standing. "I wish you would come in with us." Tea said. Tristan followed Tea out of the water. "Come on in Kaiba." He said. "I can't, I didn't bring a change of clothes." Kaiba said. "You can borrow a pair of my shorts." Tristan offered. "We're about the same size." Tristan said looking Kaiba over. Kaiba looked hesitant. "Please Kaiba!" Tea asked. "Well.okay." Kaiba finally gave in. He slipped both of his shirts off and followed both of them into the water. Yami waded his way over to Kaiba. "So you decided to get in?" He asked. "Actually, I think Tea decided for me." He smiled at the sight of Tea playing a game with Joey, Yugi, and Malik. It looked like Tea and Malik were on a team, and Joey and Yugi were on a team, and Tea and Malik were trying to keep Yugi and Joey from getting a beach ball. They were doing a pretty good job until Malik passed her the beach ball and Joey scooped Tea up in his arms and threw her into the water in the opposite direction. This gave Yugi a perfect chance to grab the ball. When Tea came back up she splashed Joey with water. "You Cheated!" She exclaimed. Joey smirked at her. Malik came up and splashed Joey in the face with water. Tea waded her way over to Kaiba and Yami. She took both of Kaiba's hands in hers. "C'mon." She said. Kaiba smirked. "And where are we going?" He asked. Tea pulled him close to her. "We're going to go have some fun." She said, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. Kaiba smiled at her. He followed where she was taking him. When they finally stopped they were far away from the rest of the gang. "What are we doing over here?" Kaiba asked, obviously puzzled by why there were no people at this part of the beach. Tea looked up into his eyes. "I just wanted some time alone, just the two of us." She answered him. Kaiba smiled at her. He gently slipped his arms around her waist, and hugged her to him. She placed her head and both of her hands on his smooth chest. He stroked her bare back gently, while she moved her hands up around his neck. She gently ran her fingers through his hair. He then leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. It was a sweet, gentle kiss. Meanwhile, Joey and Malik were watching Tea and Kaiba from about ten yards away. "Awww, isn't that cute?" Joey asked, smirking. "I think we should go grab Tea." He suggested. "Awww, Joey, do we have to? They look like they're enjoying doing.um.that." He said. "C'mon Malik." Joey said. "It'll be funny to see their expressions. Malik still looked a little cautious, but he finally gave in. They both swam in the deep water. They reached Tea's legs. Joey was tempted to go up for air, but that would ruin the whole plan. He wrapped his arms around Tea's legs, and Malik reached up and grabbed her by the waist. Tea yelped in surprise, while Kaiba looked surprised and amused at the same time. Joey and Malik both popped out of the water gasping for air. When they finally caught their breath, they lifted Tea into the air and threw her in. Joey and Malik started laughing hysterically, and Kaiba laughed along with them. When Tea came up she was gasping for air. She watched as Malik, Joey, and Kaiba all high- fived each other. "Kaiba, were you in on this?" She asked, eyeing him suspiciously. Kaiba shook his head, still laughing. Tea finally couldn't help but laugh also.  
  
THAT NIGHT  
  
Tea showered and got changed. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She put her pajamas on and walked out into the hallway of Kaiba's house. She walked past Mokuba's room and decided to check on him. She walked in and saw him playing his video game. "Hey Mokuba!" She exclaimed. Mokuba paused his game and turned around to face Tea. "Hi Tea!" He exclaimed. "May I sit down?" She asked. Mokuba nodded his head eagerly. She took a seat next to him on the bed. "Tea, can I ask you a question?" Mokuba asked. "Shoot." Tea said. "Well.I was talking to Seto about you, and he said that he loved you-a lot. I wanted to know if you loved him back?" He asked. Tea was startled by the young boy's question. She finally looked down at Mokuba and smiled. "Of course I love your brother. He's one of the people in this world that I do truly love and care for." She answered. Mokuba smiled at her response. He reached up and threw his arms around Tea's neck. Tea, you won't ever leave us will you? My mom left us when I was really little, and you remind me of my mom, and.I don't want you to leave us too." He said. She could hear the little boy crying softly into her shirt. She put her arms around him and hugged him close to her. She could feel hot tears welling in up in her eyes. But she held back her tears. She needed to comfort Mokuba now. She pulled away from the small boy, but she didn't remove her arms. She took one of her hands and gently wiped the tears from his eyes. Then she hugged the boy close to her again, gently stroking his back. "I'll never leave you Mokuba. I care to much about you and your brother to leave you." She said, fighting back tears. "And I'm honored that I remind you of your mother." She added. Mokuba finally stopped crying and looked into Tea's eyes. He could tell that she was going to cry. Tea saw that Mokuba was looking up at her. She finally couldn't help it anymore; she let the tears fall from her eyes. They made pathways down her cheeks, and dropped onto her lap. Mokuba reached up and took the small palms of his hands and wiped the tears off of Tea's face. Tea smiled a small smile at the boy. She finally got control of her emotions and stopped crying. Mokuba smiled up at her. "I'm glad you're going to stay with us." He said. "I'm glad I'm staying too." She said. Right about then Kaiba walked in the door. "Are you two having a party that I wasn't invited to?" He asked smiling. He saw that Tea's eyes were red and puffy from crying. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. "What's wrong?" He asked. Tea looked at him. "Oh, Mokuba and I were just having a talk about some things." She said. "Like what?" Kaiba asked. "I asked Tea if she would stay with us from now on." Mokuba said. Kaiba looked over at Tea, as if he was searching for her answer. "I told him that I would never leave either of you." Tea said. Kaiba smiled. He leaned over and hugged both of them close to him. "Thank-you Tea." He whispered in her ear. Tea smiled at him. "You're welcome." She replied. They all three sat on the bed until Mokuba fell asleep. Kaiba looked into Tea's eyes. "I love you Tea." Kaiba whispered to her. "I love you too." Tea said, and with that she laid her head on his shoulder and they sat on the bed holding each other until Tea drifted off to sleep. Kaiba then picked her up and took her to her room. He laid her down on the bed and lightly kissed her cheek. "Sweet dreams Tea." He whispered as he walked out of the room. "Sweet dreams." Tea whispered back, and then she drifted back off to sleep.  
  
A.N/ Well there's chapter four! I'm sorry it took so long to get the chapter up! I'll try to update more often! Please review! 


	5. Why couldn't it have been me

Help Me Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Yu-Gi-Oh or G Gundam!!! So please don't sue me, I don't have any money anyway! One more thing, you don't have to watch the show G Gundam to understand what's going on. The characters from the show only have brief parts!  
  
The next morning Tea was the first one up. She quickly dressed and brushed her hair out. She stepped out into the hallway and made her way down the stairs. She took a glass from one of the cabinets, and grabbed the orange juice from the fridge. She poured her self some and placed the juice back into the fridge. She took a sip and then set the glass on the counter. She then made her way into the living room where she sat down on the couch. She was about to pick up the remote when Kaiba made his way into the living room. He was dressed already, and was holding the newspaper. He saw that Tea was sitting on the couch. He smiled and walked over to her. She stood up and he gave her a little hug. "How are you doing this morning?" He asked her. "Fine." She answered, smiling at him. "And you?" She asked. "Good." He answered. He gave Tea a quick kiss, and then walked into the kitchen. Tea took her place on the couch again. "So what do you feel like doing today?" Kaiba asked her from the kitchen. "I don't know." Tea answered. She got up and made her way into the kitchen. She slipped her arms around his waist from behind. He turned around from what he was doing and looked down at her. She was giving him a playful smile. He bent down and brushed his lips lightly against her cheek. She giggled slightly, and then snuggled up to his chest. He put his strong arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Right then the phone rang. "I'll get it." Tea said. Kaiba nodded and went back to what he was doing. Tea walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?" She greeted into the phone. "Tea, this is Malik." Malik said over the other line. "Oh hi!" Tea exclaimed. "What do you need?" She asked. "Tea, last night your father stopped by my house." He said. Tea felt herself shudder. "What did he want?" She asked. "He wanted to know where you were staying. He said he stopped by Yugi's house and you weren't there." He answered. "He still thinks Kaiba is in prison." He added. "What did you say to him?" Tea asked. "I didn't tell him anything." Malik said. "I didn't want you and Kaiba to get hurt." He said. Tea gave a sigh of relief. "Tea, I have some bad news for you though." Malik said. "W-What is it?" Tea asked, dreading the answer. "He was getting ready to leave when he turned to me and said that he was going to try searching for you at Kaiba's house again." He said. Tea felt herself start to tremble. She tried to control the shaking, but she couldn't, she was too scared. "Tea, if you want me to, I can call Yami Bakura and we can come over there, just in case he shows up." Malik offered. Tea nodded her head. "That would be great." She said. "Thank-you." She said gratefully. "Alright, Yami Bakura and I will be there in about twenty minutes." Malik said. "I'll see ya when we get there. He hung the phone up. Tea gently placed the phone back on the receiver. "Who was it?" Kaiba asked, making his way into the living room. "It was Malik." Tea answered him. "He called to tell me that my dad is looking for me again." Tea said. Kaiba looked at her with a worried expression on his face. "Malik said that he was going to come over and bring Yami Bakura with him." Tea said. She looked at the ground. She felt hot tears welling up in her eyes. The next thing she knew, Kaiba had walked over to her and hugged her close to him. "Don't cry." He soothed. "We're going to be okay." He said. Tea let the tears run down her cheeks. "Why won't he leave me alone?" Tea asked, she was sobbing now. "I don't want him to hurt me again." She said. "I won't let him hurt you." Kaiba told her. They stood there, Kaiba holding her, until the doorbell rang. Kaiba gently let go of her. He made his way over to the door, and opened it. He saw Malik and Yami Bakura standing in front of him. "Hey Kaiba." Malik greeted. He had a worried expression on his face. "Hey you guys, come in." Kaiba said. Malik and Bakura walked into the living room. Kaiba shut the front door. "Have a seat." Kaiba offered. They both sat down. "So, have you seen any sign of him yet?" Malik asked. Kaiba shook his head. "Not yet." He said. Tea walked over and sat down in a chair across from the couch. Malik took one look at her, and had to look away. He hated seeing her this way. She was the one that always cheered everyone up. She didn't deserve to have something like this happen to her. "Tea, are you okay?" He asked her. Tea shook her head. "I'm scared." She said. "You don't have to be scared." Malik said, giving her a reassuring smile. Tea nodded her head. The four of them talked for a little while longer, until the doorbell rang. "That's him." Tea said. "I'll answer it." Yami Bakura said. He got up and walked to the door. He turned the knob, and pulled it open. He stared at the face of a man with brown hair and blue eyes, he resembled Tea a lot. "What do you want?" He asked, giving Tea's father a death glare. "I'm here to pick up my daughter." The man said smirking. Kaiba got up and walked over to the door. Yami Bakura stepped to one side so that they were both facing the man. "What! What are you doing here?!" The man asked, obviously startled as to why Kaiba was standing in front of him, rather than in a prison cell. "I live here." Kaiba said. "What do you want?" He asked. The man's face changed from surprise to hatred. "I want to take my daughter home." He said. "Well you can't." Kaiba told him. The man shoved his way past Yami Bakura and Kaiba, into the living room. He saw Tea sitting in a chair. He smirked. "There's my baby." He said. Tea shuddered. He walked over and grabbed her arm. When Malik saw this he cringed. He jumped up off of the couch and ran over to her. She looked at him with helpless eyes. Kaiba ran over and tried to pull him off of her. Her father pulled out a gun, and pointed it at Kaiba. "Don't touch her." The man warned. Kaiba backed away. The man then shoved Tea on the ground. Malik rushed to his knees and grabbed Tea's shoulders. Tea was sobbing now. He pulled her over to him and cradled her in his arms. He shot a death glare at her father. Her father smirked at him. Right then Yami Bakura and Kaiba both rushed over to Tea. Kaiba glared at the man. Kaiba walked over to the phone. He picked up the receiver and started to call the police when the man told him to set the phone back down. "Put the phone down, or I'll shoot." The man said. Kaiba continued to dial the number. "Hello, this is the Domino City Police Department, how can I help you?" A woman's voice came over the phone. "Please get to 2165 Ulebe drive as fast as you can." Kaiba said. Tea's father cringed. He pulled the trigger on the gun, and shot Kaiba. "No!" Tea screamed. She was sobbing even harder. Kaiba fell to his knees, he was holding his chest. "No!" Tea screamed again. Malik put one hand on the back of her head and pulled her head to his chest, so she couldn't see Kaiba. Tea was sobbing into his shirt. Yami Bakura stood up. "That's it." He said firmly. "You've gone to far." The man smirked at him. He held the gun up and pointed it a Yami Bakura. "You're next." He said. It was Bakura's turn to smirk this time. The man tried to pull the trigger on the gun, but he couldn't move his hand. "W-What's going on here?" He stuttered. Bakura's ring started to glow. "I've paralyzed you. He said. He rushed over to Kaiba and knelt down next to him. Kaiba was lying face down on the ground. He wasn't breathing. Bakura squeezed his eyes shut with anger. He heard sirens in the distance. They finally reached the house. He undid the paralysis before the police got inside. The police rushed the house. One of them put handcuffs on Tea's father, and then read him his rights. He took the man outside into the car. One other policeman called for an ambulance. Malik helped Tea up. She turned around and caught a glimpse of Kaiba lying on the ground. She turned back to Malik and started to cry harder. He pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry." He said. The ambulance pulled up in front of the house. Two paramedics rushed in and put Kaiba on a stretcher. They carried him back out to the ambulance. They put him in the back where another paramedic was waiting. They closed the doors and sped away to the hospital. A policeman walked over to where Tea and Malik were standing. He pulled a pad of paper and a pen out of his pocket. "Excuse me ma'am." He said. "Could you answer some questions for me?" He asked. Yami Bakura walked over to where they were standing. "Can't you see she's upset?" He asked, annoyance filled his voice. "She can't answer any questions right now." He added. "C'mon Tea." Malik said. He let go of her and then put an arm around her shoulder. He helped Tea to his car. They both got in. "We'll go wait at the hospital for Kaiba." He said. Yami Bakura made his way out to his car also. He jumped in and followed Malik and Tea. When they all arrived at the hospital, they went to the front desk. "Excuse me." Malik said politely. "Could you tell me what room Seto Kaiba is in?" He asked. She nodded, and searched through a list of names. "He's in surgery right now." She said. "You can take a seat in that waiting room, and the doctor will be out to tell you how he's doing later." She said. Malik nodded and walked with Tea to one of the couches in the waiting room. Yami Bakura was standing up pacing around the waiting room. Tea sat down, and Malik took a seat next to her. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She dialed Yugi's number. The phone rang a couple times and then finally someone picked up. "Hello?" A voice came from the other line. "Mr. Moto, this is Tea, is Yugi there?" She asked, she was about to cry again. "No, I'm sorry Tea. Yugi and Yami went with Tristan and Ryou to the movies. Tea is something wrong, you don't sound good." Grandpa remarked. "Yes, something is wrong, Kaiba's been shot." Tea said. "Oh my!" Grandpa exclaimed. "When Yami and Yugi come back I'll tell them to go to the hospital." He said. "Thanks." Tea said. She hung her phone up. She then dialed Joey's number. "Hello?" Joey greeted into the phone. "Hi, Joey." Tea said. She was on the brink of tears. "Tea! What's wrong?!" Joey exclaimed. "Kaiba's been shot." Tea said. "He's been what!?" Joey yelled over the phone. "Shot." Tea repeated. "Hold on, I'll be over in ten minutes." He said. He hung up the phone, and Tea hung hers up too. She stared at the ground. A single tear rolled down her cheek. She squinted her eyes hard to try to hold back her tears. Right about then her head shot up. "I forgot about Mokuba!" She cried. "Don't worry." Malik said. I saw one of the policemen taking him to his car when we were leaving. He was going to take Mokuba to go get some ice cream, and explain what happened to his brother." He explained. Tea nodded. The thought of Mokuba brought the tears back to her eyes. She didn't try to hold them back though. She looked down and let the tears roll down her pink cheeks. She felt an arm drape around her shoulder. She sat up to see Malik giving her a small smile. She put her head on his shoulder and let her tears fall. A couple minutes later Joey came rushing into the waiting room. He spotted Tea, Malik, and Yami Bakura. He ran over to them. "How is he?" Joey asked, trying to catch his breath. Yami Bakura shrugged his shoulders. "The doctors haven't come to talk to us yet." He answered. Joey nodded. He took a seat on the couch next to Tea. He put a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay." He said reassuringly. Tea gave him a weak smile. They waited around for two more hours until a doctor finally came out to speak with them. "Are you waiting for Seto Kaiba?" The man asked. The group nodded. The doctor looked down. "I don't want to say this." He said. "But Seto just passed away a few minutes ago. Tea looked at the doctor with disbelief in her eyes. "No, he can't be gone." She said quietly. The doctor nodded. "I'm very sorry, we did all that we could do." He turned and walked out the door. Tea sobbed uncontrollably. Malik hugged her tight. "It's okay Tea, just cry." He soothed. Yami Bakura was staring at the ground, and Joey was still staring with disbelief at the door the doctor had left through. Tea was sobbing even harder than before. "W-why couldn't it have been me?" She asked. "Why did Kaiba have to die?" She sobbed. "Don't say that Tea." Malik said quietly. "There are so many people that need you in this world." He added. Yami Bakura looked up. "That man will pay." He said out loud. Joey broke his gaze from the door to look at Yami Bakura. "What do you mean?" He asked. "He's done nothing but make people's lives miserable. Now he's going to pay for what he did." He answered. Right about then the hospital doors opened again to reveal Yami, Yugi, and Tristan. "How is he?" Was the first thing that came out of Yami's mouth. "He's dead." Joey said. "He's What!!??" Yami asked. Joey nodded. Yugi looked away from everyone. His eyes were welling up with tears. Tristan put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "It's going to be tough to get over this." He said. "But we'll do it together." He said. Just then two men came walking into the waiting room. They looked around and then headed to the front desk. Excuse me, could you tell me what room Seto Kaiba is in?" One of them asked. "You'll have to hold on for a couple minutes. Take a seat in the waiting room." She said. They both walked over and took seats across from where Yugi and the rest of the gang were. Yami got up and walked over to them. "Excuse me, are you looking for Seto Kaiba?" He asked. "Yes." One of the men said. Yami's eyes grew sad. "This may come as a shock to you, but Kaiba just died about fifteen minutes ago." He said. Both of the men looked shocked. "He's dead?" One of them asked. Yami nodded. "If you don't mind, would you please tell me who you are?" Yami asked. They both nodded. "My name is Domon Kasshu and this is George de Sand." One of the men said. We knew Kaiba very well. His technology helped us win our Gundam fights, in fact, the others should be here soon." He explained. Yami nodded. Domon looked over to the doors. He watched as three more people walked into the room. "Hey bro!" Came a familiar voice. "Hey Sai, Argo, Chibodee." "What's wrong bro?" Sai asked. "Kaiba passed away a little while ago." Domon said. Sai looked down. "What do you mean, what happened to him?" He asked. "He was shot." Yami answered. Sai looked back up at everyone, he had tears in his eyes. "Who would do such a thing?" He asked, his voice trembling. Bakura noticed that Sai was crying, he walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay little guy." He said. "He's in a better place now." He added. Sai looked up and gave him a small smile. "Yeah, you're right." He said. Malik was still holding Tea close. "Tea, I promise you, we'll get through this, together." He said. Tea cried even harder. "I'll take care of you." He said. Joey looked at the two of them. Yeah, Malik will take care of you. He thought to himself. You're in good hands Tea. He said to himself. And thinking that, he smiled at the sight of Malik cradling Tea in his arms.  
  
A.N: Well that's the end of chapter five! Hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll be back with chapter six soon! Please review!^_^ 


	6. Trial trouble

Help Me A.N: Hey you guys! I'm back with chapter six! Thanks to all of the reviewers, I 'm always looking for advice on how to make my stories better. In this chapter you're going to see a Tea/Malik pairing. Well, I hope ya'll enjoy it!  
  
It had been a couple weeks since Kaiba had been shot. Tea was still mourning over his death. She had gone back to live at her own house, but Malik had stayed with her. She spent most of her time up in her room. Sometimes Malik would go up and stand outside the door. He could hear soft crying coming from inside, but he didn't want to go inside. He didn't want her to just avoid people altogether. So he just stayed in the house, so if she did come down sometime, he would be there waiting for her. Malik had been sitting on the couch when the phone rang. He walked over and answered it. "Hello, Gardener residence." He greeted into the phone. "Hello," Came a man's voice. "Is Miss Gardener present?" He asked. "Yes, hold on." Malik said politely. He walked up to Tea's room and lightly knocked on the door. "Tea, there's someone on the phone for you." He said. He waited a couple seconds, and then Tea opened the door. Her faced was tear- streaked, but she wasn't crying anymore. She gave him a weak smile. "Thanks." She said. Her voice came out as a whisper. He smiled at her and handed her the phone. "Hello?" Tea asked. "Tea Gardener, your father's trial is tomorrow, and we would like you to testify against him for what he did to you." The man said. Tea took a deep breath. "What time tomorrow?" She asked. "Three PM." The man answered. "Okay, I'll be there." Tea said. "Thank you Miss Gardener." The man said and then he hung up the phone. Tea pushed the end button on the phone. "Who was it?" Malik asked. "It was a man who wants me to be at court tomorrow to testify against my father." Tea answered. Malik nodded his head. There were a couple minutes of silence. "Umm, Malik, could I come sit downstairs with you for awhile?" She asked. Malik got a huge grin on his face. "Of course you can!" He exclaimed. Tea smiled. A real smile this time. She followed him down the stairs and into the living room. They both took a seat next to each other on the couch. "Malik?" Tea said. "Hmm?" Malik asked. "Thank you so much for staying with me." Tea said. Malik smiled. "No problem." He said. Tea smiled again. "Hey Tea?" Malik asked. Tea looked at him. "Do you want me to come with you to the trial tomorrow?" He asked. "If you don't mind." She said. "Of course I don't mind." He said. He took one of her hands in both of his. "I told you I would take care of you." He said." Tea smiled again. She felt sleepy. She leaned her head on Malik's shoulder and slowly drifted off to sleep. The next morning she woke up and she was curled up on the couch with a blanket over her. She sat up and saw Malik curled up in a chair. She got up and walked into the kitchen. She got some water and sipped a little of it. She set her glass back down on the table. She walked upstairs to her room and grabbed a change of clothes for that day. She then made her way into the bathroom. She took a shower and washed her hair. She got out and towel dried her hair. She put a bathrobe on and searched around for her brush. I must have left it downstairs. She thought to herself. She slowly made her way downstairs and into the living room. She searched around for her brush when she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She quickly spun around and saw Malik standing there. When he saw that Tea was only wearing her bathrobe he blushed brightly. "What are you looking for?" He asked. Tea felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "My brush." She said, looking down as if to hide from him. "Oh, I think I saw it on the dining room table." He said. Tea nodded and then walked over to the table. She saw it sitting there. She grabbed it and turned around. "Thanks." She said, and then quickly made her way up the stairs. She continued getting ready. She blew her hair dry and changed into a denim skirt that came up a couple inches from her knees, and a nice fitting pink and white striped polo shirt. She looked at herself in the mirror. I guess I look alright." She sighed to herself. She put on a pair of sandals, and then made her way downstairs. Malik was sitting in a chair reading the newspaper. He looked up at her. "Wow." Was all he could manage to say. Tea looked at him. He was wearing a white polo shirt and a pair of loose fitting black pants. He stood up. "Are you ready to go?" He asked her. Tea took a deep breath and nodded her head. They both exited the house and made their way to Malik's car. Tea got in the passenger's side, and Malik got in the driver's side. They made the fifteen-minute drive to the courthouse. He found a place to park and they both got out of the car. They walked into the courthouse together. Tea spotted Yugi, Yami, and Bakura standing in a corner of the room. When they spotted Tea and Malik they rushed over to them. "Tea, how have you been?" Yugi asked. "Okay I guess." Came a weak response. They talked for a little while longer until a man asked them to make their way into the courtroom. They all stepped inside and took seats in the front of the room. The trial was going along smoothly, and then it was time for Tea to testify. She made her way up to the witness stand, and remained standing. A man brought a bible over to her and asked her to place her right hand on it. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?" He asked. "I do." Tea responded. "You may sit down." The man said. Tea took a seat in the chair. The prosecuting attorney stood in front of her and started to ask her questions. "Miss Gardener, were you abused often by your father?" He asked. Tea took a deep breath. "Yes she answered." "Did he beat you?" He asked. Tea nodded. "Yes." She said. "How bad did he beat you?" The man asked. Tea could feel tears coming to her eyes thinking about the bad memories. "Bad." She answered. "Is it true that he pushed you down the stairs, and almost killed you?" He asked. Tea nodded again. "Yes." She said weakly. "Did you see your father shoot Seto Kaiba?" The man asked. Tea glanced in Malik's direction with helpless eyes. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked back at the man. "Yes." She said. "What happened that day?" The man asked. "My father came into the house, Kaiba tried to stop him, but my father pulled out a gun. I remember him grabbing my arm and shoving me to the floor." She said. "What happened then?" The man asked. "Malik rushed to his knees and pulled me into his arms, and he held me there. And then I heard a gunshot, and I saw Kaiba fall to his knees. The police came, and then they took him away." She finished. "Thank you Miss Gardener." The man said. "You may step down." Tea stood up and descended from the witness stand. She made her way back over to Malik and the others. The rest of the trial went by smoothly. It didn't take the jury long to reach their verdict. They found her father guilty of first- degree murder, and attempted murder. He was escorted out of the courtroom. His sentencing would be later on in the month. Everyone stood up and started to file out of the courtroom. Malik walked Tea out with the others following. "You did great Tea." Yami said. "Thanks Yami." She replied giving him a sad smile. They stood and talked for a while. Meanwhile, two men were watching Tea and the others talking. "Is that his daughter?" One of the men asked. The other man nodded. "When they leave, let's follow them, and we'll get her then." The man said sadistically. The other man smirked. Malik looked at Tea. "Do you want to leave?" He asked her. Tea nodded. "We'll see you guys later." Yugi said. They said their good-byes, and parted. Tea and Malik made their way out to his car. "Malik, we don't have to go back home now do we?" She asked. Malik looked at her. "When that man was asking me those questions, it brought back bad memories. I didn't think about it before because I was too wrapped up in Kaiba's death." She said sadly. Malik looked at her with caring eyes. We don't have to." He said. They drove to a small park out of town. He parked and they both stepped out of the car. He led her over to a small bench and they both sat down. They sat there in silence for a while. Malik then moved his hand over to Tea's and he took it in his. Tea was surprised by this action, but she didn't pull away. She looked up at him and smiled a small smile. He gave her a smile too. They sat there longer. They heard a car door slam, but they didn't think anything of it. Suddenly a man grabbed Tea's arms, and put a hand over her mouth. Malik was about to jump up when another man grabbed him too. "Get off of me!" He yelled. Tea whimpered a little as the man carried her off to the car. Malik kicked the man that was holding him and the man grabbed his leg and cried out in pain. This gave Malik an opportunity to get Tea back. He ran over and tried to reach out to grab her, when he took a hard blow to the head. He started to get dizzy and he passed out. Tea was so scared. He heart was pounding with fear. The man put a cloth on her mouth. She started to become very dizzy also. After a few seconds she passed out also.  
  
Tea awoke in the basement of a house she was unfamiliar with. It was dark and cold down there. Her hands were bound and tied to a pipe sticking out from the ceiling. She searched frantically for Malik, but did not see him. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She started trembling with fear. A large man came over to her. "Oh, your up." He observed. Tea nodded. "What do you want?" She asked. "I want you to go back to the police and tell them that you father is innocent." The man said. "And why would I do that?" Tea asked. The man waved a hand in the other direction, motioning for another man to come out of the shadows. What Tea saw horrified her. Malik was bound by the wrists, and the ankles. His mouth was covered so he couldn't speak. "Because if you don't, your little boyfriend here gets it." The man said. Malik looked at Tea with helpless eyes. "So what will it be?" The man asked with a sneer on his face. "His life rests in your hands."  
  
A.N: Well, that's the end of chapter six! Hope ya'll enjoyed it. I'll be putting chapter seven up soon! Please review!^_^ 


	7. Back to normal?

Help Me  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, or G Gundam so please don't sue!  
  
Tea looked at Malik, searching his eyes for an answer to her dilemma. He looked so helpless. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want her dad to be free again, but she didn't want Malik to get hurt. The man spoke again, interrupting her thoughts. He put a hand under her chin, and lifted her head so he could see her face. He leaned his head down close to her ear. "Do you want me to come back down later and see if you've come to a decision?" He asked. Tea felt the man's lips touch her ear and cringed. She nodded. "Okay sweetie, I'll be back later." He whispered again. He pulled away from her ear and brushed his lips up against hers. When Malik saw this he went ballistic. He tried to get away from the man who was holding on to him, but the blade stopped him. The man holding on to him took the cloth covering his mouth off. "What do you think she should do?" He asked in a mocking tone. "Tea don't do it! You can't trust these guys!" He yelled. Tea nodded. The man that had kissed Tea took a couple steps back. "Let's go Ben." He said. "What should I do with him?" Ben asked, pointing at Malik. "Put him back where he was." The other man said. Ben dragged Malik back over to the corner of the basement. Then they both made their way upstairs. One of the men turned the light to the basement off. Tea gasped. She was surrounded by nothing but darkness. "Malik!" She called. "Where are you?" She asked. "I'm over here in the corner." He said. Tea was fooling with the ropes around her wrists. Her arms were tired from having them in the air all this time. She managed to get the ropes loose enough so that she could free her small hands. When she got free she called Malik's name again. "I'm over here." He said. "Keep talking." She told him. "I'm right over here." He said. Tea finally made her way over to him. She kneeled down and found the ropes on his arms. She untied them, and then started on the ones at his ankles. She untied the last one. When he was free she threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're safe." She said. Malik hugged her back. "Thank you so much." He said. "I was so worried about you." She commented. He hugged her tighter to him. "It's okay now." He told her. She pulled away from him and they both stood up. "Now we have to find a way out of here." Malik said. "It's so dark." Tea said. "I can't see anything." Malik grabbed her hand. "Don't worry, I won't leave you." He said. They made their way to the stairs. They stumbled around, and finally gathered up enough coordination to make their way quietly up the stairs. Malik put one of his hands on the wall, searching around for a light switch. He finally found it, and switched it on. The light was pretty dim, but at least they could see now. They made their way back down the stairs again. Malik still had a firm grasp on Tea's hand. They searched around the basement until Tea spotted a door. They both made their way over to it. Malik turned the lock on the door, and turned the knob. He slowly opened the door, trying not to make too much noise. When the door was fully opened they saw daylight. They rushed out the door. "We made it!" Tea exclaimed. She had a huge smile on her face. This is the happiest she's been since the beach. Malik thought to himself. "Let's get away from here." He said, smiling back at Tea. They both ran out of the yard to one of the houses down the street. They both had no idea where they were. They ran to a neighbor's house and knocked on the door. An elderly woman answered. "Excuse me ma'am, but could we please use your phone?" Tea asked. "Yes you may." The woman answered. She smiled at both of them. "Come on in." She said. They both stepped into the house and the woman shut the door. "The phone is in the kitchen on the counter." She told them. Tea made her way into the kitchen. Malik took the woman's hand. Thank you so much for letting us in." He said gratefully. The woman smiled at him. "It was no problem." She said. Malik smiled. Tea picked up the phone and dialed Joey's number. "Hello?" Came a familiar voice. "Joey, it's Tea!" Tea exclaimed. "Tea!? Where have you been?" He asked. "I've been tryin to call you for some time now!" He said. "I'm sorry Joey." Tea said apologetically. "But something happened, and it's kind of hard to explain." She said. "I need you to come pick Malik and I up." She said. "What happened Tea?" Joey asked. "I'll explain it if you pick us up." Tea said. "Where are you?" Joey asked. "We're at 8904 Wong Avenue." She answered. "Okay, I'll be there." He said. He hung the phone up. Tea placed the phone back onto the receiver and walked into the living room. She saw Malik sitting on the couch talking with the old woman. She was telling him about when her husband went off to fight in World War Two, and how he never came home. Malik was listening patiently to every word she said. "I'm so sorry to hear that." He said. The woman gave him a smile. "But that was fifty-seven years ago." She said. "And I get along fine these days." She said. He smiled. That is so sweet. Tea thought to herself, as she watched him listen tolerantly to another one of her stories. I've really been taking him for granted. She thought. She made her way over and took a seat next to him. He turned to smile at her, and then turned back to the woman to hear the rest of her story. She talked, and talked until they heard footsteps on the porch. They heard someone knock on the door. The woman got up to answer it. She opened it to reveal Joey standing there. "Well hello young man." She said smiling at him. "Hi there." Joey said politely. "Are Malik and Tea here?" He asked. The woman looked puzzled for a second, and then she gasped. "Oh! You mean my guests?" She asked. Joey nodded. "Well they're in here." She said. She let Joey come in. "Hey you guys!" Joey greeted. Tea waved and Malik smiled. They both stood up. Malik looked at the woman again. "Thank you again for your hospitality." He said. The woman smiled. "Come back and see me sometime." She said. Tea and Malik both smiled and then followed Joey out the door. They walked to his car. Joey got in the driver's seat, and Malik offered Tea the passenger's seat. She accepted and Malik got in the back. Joey started driving. "So, what exactly happened?" He asked. "Well," Tea started. She told him the story from when they were kidnapped to when they found the woman's house to use the phone. "Wow." Was all Joey could manage to say. He pulled up into Tea's driveway. "Thanks Joey." Tea said, getting out of the car. "Yeah, thanks Joey." Malik said. They both stepped out of the car and watched as Joey pulled out of the driveway. He drove off and Malik and Tea went into the house. "It has been a really long day." Tea said. "Yeah." Malik agreed. Tea walked over and plopped herself down on the couch. Malik made his way over, and sat down next to her. They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Then Malik took her hand and laced his fingers through hers. She blushed, but she didn't pull away. She moved closer to him until her body was right up against his. He looked directly at her. His eyes seemed to burn into hers. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. Tea was surprised when his lips touched hers. He then moved his arms down around her waist, and pulled her closer to him. Tea was enjoying the kiss until the thought of Kaiba popped up into her head. She quickly pulled away from Malik. Malik looked at her with hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry." Tea whispered. Her eyes formed hot tears, and her vision started to blur. "No, I'm sorry." Malik said. He let go of her. There were tears now streaming down her cheeks. Malik's eyes had a mixture of sadness and hurt in them. She saw them and she cried even harder. She couldn't help but throw her arms around him and bury her head in his shirt. "I'm so sorry!" She cried. He gently placed both of his hands on her back and lightly rubbed it to try to comfort her. She was still crying when she said something. "I-I don't know w-what's wrong with m-me." She stuttered. "Oh Tea." Malik said sympathetically. "There's nothing wrong with you." He told her. He gently pushed her up so she could face him. "You're perfect." He said quietly. Tea looked down as if she was ashamed of herself. "No I'm not." She said. "I don't even see why you stay here with me. I don't deserve you." She said miserably. "That's not true Tea." He said giving her a small smile. "You deserve everything you get." He said. Tea turned her teary eyes to Malik. "Really?" She asked. Malik nodded. "Oh, thank you Malik!" She exclaimed. She laid her head on his chest, and he continued stroking her back softly. After about twenty minutes Tea's breathing became even, and Malik could tell she was asleep. He wanted to lay her on the couch so she could stretch out and he would take the chair again, but he didn't want to risk moving and then waking her up. So he just sat there until he finally drifted off to sleep also. When Tea awoke the next morning she still had her head resting on Malik's chest. She snuggled up closer to him. He felt her shift positions and he sleepily opened his eyes. He tightened his grip around her and pulled her close. She opened her eyes again, knowing she wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep. She looked up at Malik, who was also awake. "Good morning sunshine." He said. She could tell he was still tired. "Good morning yourself." She said cheerfully. She sat up and stretched. She got to her feet and made her way to the stairs. She climbed them up to her room. She walked over to her closet and chose some clothes to wear that day. She undressed, and then started to put the new clothes on. She put on a pair of denim shorts, and a T-shirt. She brushed her hair back into a ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror and then sighed. She made her way back downstairs. Malik was in the bathroom changing also. When he came out he was wearing a pair of khaki shorts that came a few inches below his knees, and a plain white T-shirt. He dug through his bag took a brush out. He brushed his medium length blonde hair back into place. "How about we go visit Yugi and the others today?" Malik suggested. Tea nodded. "That sounds like fun." She said. Malik smiled, but then his smile faded. "I forgot, my car is still at that park." He said frowning. "It's okay." Tea said. We'll take my car." She grabbed her keys and they both headed out the door. She pressed a button on one of the key chains she had in her hand. The garage door started to open. When it was fully open, they both stepped into the garage. Tea got into the driver's seat, and Malik got into the passenger's seat. She started up the engine and started to back out of the driveway. They drove to the game shop, and then found a place to park. They both stepped out of the car and slammed their doors shut. Tea opened the door to the shop and Malik followed her inside. They saw Grandpa standing behind the counter flipping through a new shipment of Duel Monster cards. When he looked up and saw that Tea and Malik were standing there a smile came to his face. "Why hello Tea and Malik." He greeted cheerfully. "Hello Mr. Moto." Tea smiled. "How are you today?" She asked. "I'm doing great, thanks." He answered. "Would Yugi happen to be here?" Tea asked. "Of course, he's in the back with Joey, and the others." Grandpa answered. "Thanks." Tea said smiling. She grabbed Malik's hand and they both walked to the back of the shop. When they entered, Yugi and everyone else looked up. "Hey guys!" Yugi exclaimed. "Hi Yugi!" Tea said happily. Malik waved a little. "How have you been?" Tristan asked. "I'm doing better." Tea said. "Good." Tristan replied. The room was full of people. She saw Yugi, Yami, Yami Bakura, Ryou, Duke, and Serenity. She also saw some people that she didn't recognize. Serenity jumped up. "Oh Tea!" She sighed happily. "I'm so glad you're doing better." She said cheerfully. She threw her arms around Tea in a hug. "Thanks Serenity." Tea said. Serenity let go of Tea and sat back down next to Tristan. "Have a seat." Yugi said. Malik and Tea both sat on the floor. "Tea, Malik, this is Domon Kasshu, Sai Saishi, Argo Gulsky, Chibodee Crocket, and George de Sand." We invited them over to hang out with us. They were good friends of Kaiba's." Yugi introduced them. "Why, hello." Tea greeted them. "Nice to meet you mademoiselle." George said. "And you to masseur." He said. "Hey bro, hey sis." Sai greeted cheerfully. "Hey there." Chibodee said winking. "Hello." Argo said. "Nice to meet you." Domon said. He stood up. "Well guys, I guess it's time we headed back home." Domon said "Rain's probably worried about me." He added. "Chibodee rolled his eyes. "I'll bet she's more worried about me." He said giving Domon a wink. Everyone else stood up. "It was nice meeting you all." George said. "Same here." Yugi replied. The five walked out of the room. "They seemed very nice." Tea said. Yami nodded. "They were." He said. "You guys, I'm bored." Joey complained. "Let's do something." He said. "Yeah." Tristan agreed. "What do you guys want to do?" Ryou asked. "We should go swimming." Tristan suggested. "Yeah, my mom put a pool in our backyard." Serenity spoke up. Joey looked shocked. "You guys have a pool?" He asked in disbelief. Serenity nodded. "Then let's go!" Joey exclaimed. Everyone got up and filed out of the room. "Let's go back to the house and get some stuff." Tea said. Malik nodded. They both walked out to the car and got in. As Tea was driving home she was thinking. Maybe things are starting to get back to normal around here. She thought to herself. I'm starting to have fun with my friends again, and I'm starting to like Malik more and more. She thought. She smiled to herself. But what Tea didn't know is that something much worse was heading her way, and she was completely oblivious to it.  
  
A.N: Okay, that was a really bad chapter, but I've been having a horrible case of writer's block lately. Well I'll have chapter eight up soon! Please review!^_^ 


	8. The scream

HELP ME  
  
A.N: Hey you guys! I'm back again with chapter eight. I hope you all enjoy it!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! So please don't sue me!!!  
  
Malik and Tea got back to Tea's house. They stepped out of the car and headed towards  
  
the house. Tea unlocked the door and they both walked inside. "I'll be right back  
  
down." Tea said as she climbed the stairs to her room. Malik grabbed a towel, his swim  
  
shorts, and a change of clothes. He also grabbed some sun tan lotion. He walked over to  
  
the couch and plopped down on it. He sighed. It'll be nice to do something fun with Tea.  
  
He thought to himself. Maybe it'll cheer her up a little. He smiled to himself when the  
  
thought of Tea popped into his head. He really liked her a lot, and he had the feeling that  
  
Tea was beginning to like him back. His thoughts were interrupted when Tea came  
  
walking back down the stairs. He stood up to face her. "Are you ready to go?" He asked  
  
giving her a small smile. Tea smiled back. She walked over to Malik and stopped right  
  
in front of him. "Malik, I just wanted to thank you for taking care of me these past  
  
couple of weeks." She said. Malik shrugged. "It was nothing." He said. Tea's smile  
  
grew even wider. "No, it was something. Even when I stayed up in my room for days at  
  
a time you stayed with me. I know I've been a real pain, and I've caused you nothing but  
  
trouble, but-" Tears started forming in Tea's eyes. "Oh, Tea." Malik sighed. He gently  
  
slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. "You don't have to cry.  
  
Believe me, there's nowhere else I would rather have been than here with you these past  
  
few weeks." He finished. He felt Tea bury her face in his neck, and he felt hot tears roll  
  
off of her cheeks onto him. "Shhhh." He whispered to her. He pulled her closer to him  
  
and held her tight. "You don't need to cry." Tea looked up at him with her tear streaked  
  
face. "Thanks." She said quietly. Malik leaned down to kiss her, but then stopped,  
  
remembering what happened the last time. Tea saw what he was about to do. She  
  
watched him stop, and she gave him a sad smile. Then to Malik's surprise she reached  
  
her head up and kissed him lightly on the lips. When she pulled back Malik had a  
  
shocked expression on his face. Tea put her arms around his neck and stared into his  
  
gorgeous lavender eyes. Malik then leaned down and kissed her. His grip around Tea  
  
tightened. Tea finally pulled away, pulling in air. "We should probably get going, or the  
  
others are going to wonder where we are." Malik suggested. Tea nodded. They both  
  
walked out to the car, and got in. Tea started the car, and backed it out of the driveway.  
  
They drove for about fifteen minutes and then Tea pulled up into the Wheeler's  
  
driveway. They stepped out of the car and grabbed their things. Then they walked into  
  
the back yard where they saw Joey, Tristan, Serenity, and Yugi in the pool splashing  
  
around already. Tea looked over and saw that Yami Bakura was trying to tan again, she  
  
saw Yami sitting in a deck chair reading a magazine. Bakura was also sitting on a deck  
  
chair reading. Serenity spotted Tea and waved. "Hey you guys!" She called. Tea  
  
waved back. She then made her way over to the pool. "You can change in the  
  
bathroom." She said. "You know where it is. But hurry up and change, we're getting  
  
ready to start a volleyball game!" She exclaimed. Tea nodded. She turned around and  
  
headed into the house with Malik following close behind her. She made her way into the  
  
bathroom and closed the door. Malik leaned up against the wall and waited for Tea to get  
  
done changing. When she opened the door and walked out, Malik couldn't help but stare  
  
at her. She was wearing a white two-piece that showed off her perfectly tanned skin.  
  
Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, with some strands of hair hanging down  
  
that had gotten loose from the rest of the hair. She noticed him staring and she  
  
started to blush. Malik snapped himself out of his staring stage, and looked at Tea's face.  
  
He saw that her cheeks were bright pink. "You look great." He said quietly. Tea gave a  
  
little laugh. "Why thank-you." She said smiling. "Well, I'm going to go get changed."  
  
He said. Tea nodded. Malik walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Tea laughed to  
  
herself thinking about the expression on Malik's face. She made her way out to the deck.  
  
Yami looked up and smiled. "How's it going Tea?" He asked. Tea shrugged. "Okay I  
  
guess." She said smiling a bit. Yami Bakura got up and walked over to them. "Hey  
  
where's Malik?" He asked. Yami shrugged. "How should I know?" He asked. "Yo,  
  
Pharaoh Boy, it was just a question." Yami Bakura said defensively. Yami smirked.  
  
"Ummm, he's in the bathroom changing." Tea said quickly. "Why thank-you Tea."  
  
Yami Bakura said. He smiled and then walked back to where he was sitting. Right about  
  
then, Malik emerged from inside the house. He walked over to where Yami and Tea  
  
were talking. "Hey Malik." Yami greeted. Malik smiled. "What's up Pharaoh?" He  
  
asked. Yami shrugged. "Hey you guys!" They all three heard Serenity call. "We're  
  
starting the volleyball game!" She yelled. "Are you playing Yami?" Tea asked. Yami  
  
nodded. You bet." He answered her. All three of them walked over to the pool. Yami  
  
and Malik both jumped right in, but Tea eased her way into the freezing cold water.  
  
Malik came up for air. His hair was soaked. There were pieces of hair sticking to his  
  
face. He quickly ran his fingers through it to get it out of his eyes. Tea was finally  
  
all of the way in the pool. She was shivering in the cold water. Malik saw her shiver and  
  
waded over to her. He enveloped her in his arms, and pulled her to him. Her back was  
  
resting on his bare chest. "You cold?" He asked, a small smile on his face. Tea turned  
  
around to face him. She nodded. All of the sudden, Joey came up behind Tea, and he  
  
splashed her with the freezing cold water. Tea gave a loud yelp. She turned around.  
  
"Joey Wheeler!" She yelled. An innocent grin formed on Joey's face. "What?" He  
  
asked. Tea couldn't help but laugh. "You are so mean!" She giggled, splashing him  
  
back with water. Joey smirked. "Hey!!!" They heard Serenity yell. "Are we going to  
  
play or what?" She asked. Tea, Malik, Yami, and Joey waded over to where Serenity,  
  
Tristan, and Yugi were standing. "Let's go!" Joey exclaimed. "Alright, we need to pick  
  
teams." Tristan stated. They all nodded in agreement. "Hey." Joey said. "Me, Yami,  
  
Tea, and Serenity will be a team, and Tristan, Yugi, and Malik will be a team." He  
  
suggested. "Sounds good to me." Serenity commented. "Hey, we're short one person."  
  
Tristan observed. Malik nodded. "We need one more person." He said. Joey looked  
  
over at Yami Bakura. "Hey Bakura!" He called. Bakura looked up from what he was  
  
doing. "What do you want?" He asked harshly. "You want to come play volleyball with  
  
us?" Joey asked. "Does it look like I want to play volleyball with you?" Bakura asked.  
  
Joey looked thoughtful. "No, not really." He said. "Maybe there's a brain in that head  
  
of yours after all." Bakura said smirking. "Oh come on Bakura." Tea pleaded.  
  
Bakura's gaze switched from Joey to Tea. "It'll be fun." She said. "Yeah come on."  
  
Malik chimed in. "You people aren't going to leave me alone until I play, are you?"  
  
Bakura asked. "Nope!" They all said in unison. "Fine." Bakura sighed. "I'll play."  
  
"Great!" Tristan exclaimed. "You're on our team." He said. Bakura slid easily off of  
  
his chair. "Oh, I'm ecstatic, can't you see the excitement on my face?" He asked  
  
sarcastically. He jumped into the pool. "Alright, let's beat these losers!" Joey  
  
exclaimed. "Oh, bring it on Joey!" Tristan said. "It's already been brought!" Joey  
  
yelled. They started the game. When the game ended, the score was fifteen to five.  
  
"Good job team." Joey congratulated. "Alright, next time Yugi is going to sit on my  
  
shoulders." Malik said. "Ahhh, we did fine." Tristan said. "Are you kidding me?"  
  
Bakura asked. "We lost to Joey, I mean, look at him." He said, pointing at Joey. They  
  
all looked over at Joey who was drinking the pool water. Tristan turned back around to  
  
face the rest of his team. "Okay, I see your point." He said. "Well, I'm getting out,  
  
before he decides to replace the water with something else." Bakura said. "Yeah, I'm  
  
with you." Malik agreed. They both got out of the pool, followed by Tristan and Yugi.  
  
Tea watched as Malik climbed out of the pool. "Well, I think I'm going to get out." She  
  
said. She climbed out also. After a few minutes, Serenity, Joey, and Yami got out too.  
  
"Hey, do you all want to come in and watch a movie?" Serenity asked. "That sounds  
  
like fun." Tea said. She turned to Malik. "Yeah, that does sound like fun." He said.  
  
"We'll stay." Tea smiled. "Count me in." Joey said. "Yeah, me too." Tristan chimed  
  
in. "Yugi, do you want to stay?" Yami asked. Yugi nodded. "Sure." Yugi answered.  
  
Yami looked over. "We'll stay too." He said. Serenity nodded. She then looked over at  
  
Bakura. "How bout you Bakura?" She asked. "Do you want to stay too?" She asked.  
  
Bakura looked at her. "I guess." He said. "Great." Serenity said. "Let's all get  
  
changed, and then we can decide on a movie." She said. They all nodded and then filed  
  
into the house. Serenity's house had three bathrooms. Mali, Tea, and Yami all walked to  
  
the same bathroom. "You can go first Yami." Tea said. Yami smiled. "Thanks." He  
  
said. He walked into the bathroom and shut the door. "That was fun." Malik  
  
commented. "Yeah." Tea replied. "I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard.  
  
You know, when Joey was going to hit the ball, but he slipped and fell instead?" Tea  
  
gave a small laugh at the thought. Right then, Malik leaned down and gave Tea a small  
  
kiss on the lips. Tea looked up at him when he pulled away. A small smile crept onto  
  
Malik's lips. He was about to kiss Tea again when Yami came out of the bathroom. He  
  
quickly leaned up against the wall. Yami was wearing a pair of jeans, and a tight,  
  
sleeveless, blue shirt. Yugi had been trying to get Yami to expand his wardrobe, so Yami  
  
started wearing jeans, but he still insisted on wearing sleeveless shirts. He shot Tea and  
  
Malik a quick smile. He then disappeared around the corner. Tea looked back at Malik.  
  
"You go ahead and go first." He said. Tea smiled and disappeared into the bathroom.  
  
After a few minutes, she emerged wearing a pair of blue jean shorts, and a pink short  
  
sleeved shirt. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail again. "You're turn." She  
  
said. Malik smiled and walked into the bathroom. Tea leaned her back up against the  
  
wall and sighed. I had so much fun today. She thought to herself. I didn't think I would  
  
ever be this happy again. She thought. Malik has really helped me get through this. The  
  
thought of Malik made her smile. He had helped her through so much, and she wanted to  
  
do something special for him, but she didn't know what yet. Before she could think  
  
about it any further, Malik came walking out of the bathroom. He had on a white,  
  
sleeveless shirt, with a pair of khaki shorts on. He smiled, and then slid his arm  
  
comfortably around her shoulders. They made their way into the living room and took a  
  
seat on one of the couches. "Are we all here?" Serenity asked. She was seated next to  
  
Tristan on the loveseat. She looked around. "No, we're still waiting for Bakura." Yugi  
  
commented. Bakura came downstairs a few minutes later. "Jeez Bakura, did you get  
  
lost?" Joey asked. Bakura took a seat next to Yugi. "No I didn't get lost you idiot." He  
  
said. "Well did you put on some make-up?" Joey asked. Bakura rolled his eyes. "Yes  
  
Joey, you caught me. I wear make-up." He said sarcastically. "Ha! I knew it! What did  
  
I tell you Tristan? I knew he wore make-up from the first time I saw him." Joey said  
  
with pride in his voice. Tristan rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry I doubted you Joey. I'll  
  
never do it again." He said. "So, what movie do you guys want to watch?' Serenity  
  
asked. "Why don't we watch The Ring?" Malik suggested. Tea looked at him. "Have  
  
you seen that before?" She asked. Malik nodded. "Yeah, it's good." He answered. "I  
  
think we should watch What Lies Beneath?" Tristan said. Yami looked over at Joey,  
  
who was staring at Bakura's face intently. Bakura finally noticed Joey staring at him.  
  
"What are you staring at?!" He yelled. "I'm staring at your face." Joey said, not  
  
breaking his stare. "I know that you idiot! Why are you staring at my face?" He asked.  
  
"I want to see what color eye shadow you wear." Joey said. This comment set Bakura  
  
off. "JOEY!!! I don't wear make-up!!!" He yelled. Joey sat back. "Oh." He said  
  
simply. "Okay, I have an idea. Why don't we watch What Lies Beneath, and then we  
  
watch The Ring? Does that sound good to everyone?" She asked. Everyone nodded.  
  
All of the sudden the phone rang. Serenity hopped up off of the couch. "I'll be right  
  
back." She said. She made her way into the kitchen and answered the phone. Tea  
  
scooted closer to Malik, and leaned her head on his chest. Serenity walked into the room.  
  
"Hey Tea, the phone's for you." She said. Tea looked surprised. "Okay, thanks." She  
  
said. She walked into the kitchen and picked the phone up off of the counter. She held  
  
the receiver to her ear. "Hello?" She greeted into the phone.  
  
Malik was talking to Yami about some new duel monsters cards he picked up. All of the  
  
sudden, they all heard the sound of the phone crashing to the floor, and a piercing scream  
  
from Tea.  
  
A.N: Alright, that was chapter eight. I hope ya'll liked it!!! I'll be getting chapter nine up soon! Please R&R!!! God Bless!( 


	9. Ticklish Tea and the letter

Help Me  
  
A.N: Okay you guys! I'm finally back. "I'm very sorry it took me so long to update, but I've been really busy with church activities, school activities, and work. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.  
  
Tea dropped the phone on the ground, and sunk down to her knees. She watched  
  
with helpless eyes as Malik, Yami, Bakura, and Tristan ran into the room to see what  
  
happened. "Tea, what's wrong? Who was that just now?" Malik asked her as he  
  
dropped to his knees. Tea shook her head. Her eyes were wide with fright. "She's too  
  
scared to say." Bakura commented. He bent over and retrieved the phone. He held it up  
  
to his ear to see if there was anyone on the other line still. Unfortunately, there wasn't.  
  
He placed the phone on the counter. Malik managed to pull Tea to her feet. The fear had  
  
disappeared from her eyes, and was replaced with sorrow. Malik put two comforting  
  
hands on her shoulders. "Tea, please tell me what they said." He pleaded. Tea looked  
  
down at the floor. "Th-They were describing how Kaiba died. The man told me that he  
  
was with my father but he was waiting in the car. When the ambulance arrived, he  
  
jumped out of the car, and told one of the paramedics he was a friend of Kaiba's. The  
  
paramedic said that he could ride in the back, so he got in. When they loaded Kaiba in,  
  
the man said that he wasn't fully dead yet. He told me he was gasping for air, like a child  
  
who was choking on a piece of candy. He said that he began to cough up blood, and then  
  
after a few more minutes of struggling, he finally stopped breathing for good." She  
  
explained. Hot tears began to form behind her eyelids, but she managed to hold them  
  
back. "The scary part was, he was laughing the same sadistic laugh the whole time he  
  
was telling me this story." She added, still trying desperately to hold her tears back.  
  
Bakura cringed. "That guy is really asking for it." He said through clenched teeth. Tea  
  
stepped past the group of guys standing around her. She walked into the living room to  
  
see Serenity and Joey sitting on the couch, looking extremely worried. Tea managed to  
  
give them each a small smile. "Thank you for having us over Serenity, but I think I need  
  
to go home now." She told them both. Serenity nodded and smiled. "Go home and get  
  
some rest, maybe you'll forget what happened here tonight." She said. Tea nodded as  
  
Malik walked up behind her. He took one of her hands, and gently led her out of the  
  
house. "Do you want me to drive?" He asked, when they stepped out into the darkness.  
  
Tea nodded, as she dug around in her pockets for the car keys. She found them, and  
  
handed them to Malik. Then, they both climbed into the car. Malik started the ignition,  
  
and backed out of the Wheeler's driveway. They drove in silence for a while. Finally,  
  
Malik spoke up. "Tea, I'm really sorry you had to go through that ordeal." He  
  
commented. Tea was startled at what he said. "I know, I am too." She replied. He  
  
voice was quiet and meek. After a few more minutes of silence, they pulled into the  
  
driveway. The two of them got out of the car, and Tea took the keys from Malik as she  
  
flipped through all them to try and find the house key. After a few moments she did, and  
  
they were inside the house. Tea dropped her thing onto the floor, and began to climb the  
  
stairs to her room. When she was out of sight, Malik heaved a heavy sigh. "Just when I  
  
think she's starting to get better, those jerks go and pull something like this." He said  
  
quietly to himself. He walked over and sat down on the couch. He turned the television  
  
on and began to flip through channels to try and find something interesting to watch.  
  
After a few minutes, he was sick of flipping, and he just shut the TV off. He sat there in  
  
silence for a little while. Then, all of the sudden, he heard footsteps on the stairs. He  
  
turned to see Tea walking down the steps. She still had a very sorrowful look on her  
  
face, and he could sense sadness in her deep blue eyes. She descended the rest of the  
  
stairs, and took a seat next to Malik on the couch. He had a very startled look on his face.  
  
Tea noticed it, and gave him a small smile. "I just couldn't stay up there by myself." She  
  
told him, as if she was trying to reply to the confused look on his face. This made Malik  
  
smile too. "I'm glad you decided to come down here with me." He replied. Tea gently  
  
laid her head down on Malik's chest. He slipped his arms around her to try and comfort  
  
her. After a few minutes of sitting there in silence, just enjoying each other's company,  
  
Tea looked up at Malik, and she gazed into his lavender eyes, which were sparking with  
  
happiness. She reached up, and gently kissed him on the lips. Malik once again was  
  
startled, but he got over that quickly, as he kissed her back. Tea buried her hands in his  
  
soft blonde hair, and twisted a piece of it around on her finger. Malik gently ran his  
  
fingertips up and down her back, then he moved onto her sides. Tea smiled into his lips  
  
as she tried to hold back her laughter. Malik pulled away from her, and smiled a devious  
  
smile. "Oh, so you're ticklish?" He asked. Tea shook her head vigorously, she had a  
  
sheepish grin on her face. "I think you're lying to me." Malik said, as he attacked both  
  
of her sides with his hands. She started to laugh hysterically. "Stop it Malik! Please!"  
  
She pleaded, trying to pry his hands off of her sides. After a few more minutes of the fun  
  
torture, he stopped. Tea managed to bring her laughter down to giggles. Malik sat back  
  
against the couch again as Tea finally stopped laughing. They sat in silence for a few  
  
minutes, when Tea jumped up. Malik looked at her with a surprised look on his face. "I  
  
forgot to check the mail!" She exclaimed, as she walked over to the door, and  
  
disappeared out into the dark. She made the short walk to the mailbox, and pulled the  
  
mail out. She flipped through it, until she came to an envelope addressed to her in sloppy  
  
handwriting. A smile spread across her lips, as she ran inside the house. Little did they  
  
both know that the car parked across the street had been watching them both very closely,  
  
and they weren't about to leave anytime soon. Tea shut the door as she stepped into the  
  
house. Malik noticed the large smile on her face. "Guess what!" She exclaimed  
  
excitedly. "What?" He asked, amused by her happiness. "We got a letter from  
  
Mokuba!" She answered him. Malik smiled and stood as Tea began tearing the top of  
  
the envelope, ready to see what Mokuba had to say.  
  
A.N: Goodness, that chapter was HORRIBLE!!! I'm really sorry everyone. I just have this horrible case of writer's block. Anyway, I'll be trying to update more often now, so please review! 


	10. When Will Things Get Better?

A.N: Hahaha! I'm not dead everyone! Sorry I haven't updated this story in so long, but school started to get a bit hard for me for awhile. I'm really not the brightest crayon in the box! I've also been working on some new stuff, such as the three Yu Yu Hakusho songfics that I've posted! The pairings are Yusuke/Keiko, and the other two are Botan/Kurama. So if anyone who is reading this story likes those pairings, Clay Aiken, and Luther Vandross, please, please read and review! I love all of you so much, now on with the story!  
  
Help Me  
  
Malik watched in awe as Tea tore the white envelope open. She seemed to have the white piece of paper torn into a million pieces.  
  
Tea finally pulled out a plain piece of notebook paper. She unfolded it and began to read out loud. "Hi Tea! I was hoping this letter would get to you soon. I just wanted to let you know that I'm doing fine. I'm staying with my grandmother who lives in the country. I've been riding all of the horses she has! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that if you ever want to come and visit me, you can call our house, and my grandma will give you directions. The phone number is: 856-2596. I hope to see you soon!"  
  
Tea was absolutely ecstatic. "Oh, I'm so glad he's okay." She murmured to herself, as she brought the letter up to her chest. The two teens were quiet for a few moment, until Malik finally spoke up.  
  
"So, let's call his grandmother, and we'll go see him." Malik said cheerfully.  
  
Tea's head darted over so that she was facing Malik. "What?" She asked, looking somewhat confused.  
  
A smile crossed Malik's lips as he nodded. "Yeah, let's go see Mokuba." He repeated to the shocked girl.  
  
Tea's deep blue eyes danced with happiness as she stared at Malik. "You really mean it?" She asked. Malik didn't even know Mokuba personally. He knew who Mokuba was, but he had never spoken with him before.  
  
Malik nodded his head. "Now hurry up and call that number, or I'll have to do it for you." He told her, as he smirked a bit.  
  
Tea quickly ran over and threw her arms around the Egyptian boy. Malik was startled at first, but then he hugged her back.  
  
"Thank you so much Malik." She whispered to him. Malik smiled at the brunette in his arms.  
  
"You're welcome." He replied.  
  
An Hour Later...  
  
Tea pulled a CD out of her CD case and gently pushed it into the radio in the car. Music began to flood the speaker system as Tea turned it up just a bit louder..  
  
Malik, who was driving glanced over at the girl who had begun to sing the lyrics to the song. "Who is this?" He asked.  
  
Tea stopped singing for a moment to answer him. "It's Story of The Year. They're a hard rock band from the United States." She answered, smiling at him. (I had to use Story of The Year because they're one of the best bands out there! Plus, I got to meet on of the guitarists, and they graduated from my high school!)  
  
Malik nodded. "I like how they sound." He told Tea. She smiled back at him and then went back to singing.  
  
It took the pair about two hours to reach the farm that Mokuba's grandmother lived on. Malik parked the car on the long gravel driveway.  
  
Tea opened her door quickly and jumped out of the car, followed by Malik.  
  
Tea stared up at the farmhouse in awe. "Oh, it's so beautiful." She said in a amazement.  
  
The house indeed was beautiful. It was a large; two story house that looked like it had just been painted white. The windows had sky blue shutters attached to either side, and flower boxes in the sills. There was a wrap around porch attached to the house, and Tea noticed two large wooden chairs which sat upon the floor, and a porch swing that swayed back and forth gently in the light breeze.  
  
Malik stepped up next to Tea. "Well, let's go knock on the door." He said, as he took her hand and gently laced his fingers through hers.  
  
Tea glanced at Malik, and smiled. "All right." She agreed, as the two began to walk up to the house together.  
  
Once they were at the door, Tea raised one of her hands, and knocked loudly. The pair waited for a few seconds, before Tea knocked again. Again, they waited for a few moments, but still, no one answered the door.  
  
Tea looked up at Malik, who looked very puzzled. "I wonder if they can't hear us." She suggested.  
  
Malik shrugged. "Maybe the door is unlocked." He stated. He reached a hand out and gently turned the knob on the door. To their surprise, it was unlocked.  
  
"Let's go in." He said, as he stepped into the house first, followed by Tea.  
  
"Hello?" Tea called. "It's me, Tea, and my friends Malik! We came here to visit Mokuba!" She said loudly. When she got no answer, she glanced back at Malik, who was trying to find an explanation.  
  
"Well, this is a very large house. She's probably in a room upstairs or something and she can't hear us." He stated.  
  
Tea saw the uneasiness in the blonde's eyes, as he looked around.  
  
"Why don't we split up? I'll search down here, and you can search upstairs. We're bound to find her that way." He suggested.  
  
Tea nodded. "All right." Let's meet back here in ten minutes if we don't find anything." She replied, as she let go of his hand.  
  
The two split up, and Tea walked up the stairs slowly. She made it to the second floor, and saw a small hallway with four rooms on either side.  
  
"Hello!" Tea called loudly. "Mokuba! Are you here?" The brunette took slow strides down the hall as she checked in each of the rooms.  
  
There were seven bedrooms, and one bathroom. Each room was furnished nicely, and was perfectly in order.  
  
Tea shrugged. "Hopefully Malik had better luck than I did." She murmured to herself, as she began her descent down the stairs.  
  
She walked into the living room to see Malik standing there with his hands in his pockets.  
  
"You didn't find anything?" She asked, looking disappointed.  
  
Malik shook his head. "No, but when I went into the kitchen I found a full pitcher of lemonade, and a plate of cookies that looked like they had just been baked." He replied.  
  
Tea looked thoughtful. "So, we know that she was expecting us." She stated. Suddenly, it looked as if a light bulb just flashed in Tea's mind. "Of course! The horses!" She exclaimed happily.  
  
Malik cocked an eyebrow at her. "Horses?" He asked, looking quite confused.  
  
Tea nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, In Mokuba's letter he said that he had been riding the horses. They're probably outside!" She said, as she grabbed Malik's hand.  
  
The two rushed through the kitchen, and through the open back door. When they made it out onto the grass, and saw the horses walking around in the pen, Tea frowned.  
  
Malik scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess they're not riding the horses." He commented, as he glanced at Tea.  
  
Tea looked absolutely stumped. "I don't get it." She whispered quietly. "Where could they be?" She walked over to the pen, where one of the horses was standing, his head over the large fence.  
  
Malik followed her over to the horse, and watched as she stroked its head gently.  
  
"Have you seen Mokuba?" Tea asked, as she talked to the horse in a soothing tone.  
  
The horse just stood there, soaking up the attention he was getting from the brunette girl.  
  
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun on her heel to see Malik standing behind her, a horrified look on his face.  
  
"What, what's wrong?" She asked, looking frantic.  
  
Malik pointed to the ground, and Tea's eyes followed ever so slowly. Finally, she gasped loudly when she saw what he was looking at.  
  
On the ground was a spot of think, red, liquid.  
  
"Blood?" Tea asked, now looking as horrified as Malik had looked.  
  
Malik nodded, as he slowly knelt down. He examined it closely. "It looks new." He commented.  
  
This sent chills up Tea's spine. Her gaze shifted from the small spot of blood, to another one close by. The spots continued on in a small trail, until it reached the barn.  
  
"Malik, look." She whispered, as she pointed to the rest of the blood spots.  
  
Malik's eyes widened as he watched the trail continue to the barn. He slowly stood up, and Tea moved closer to him.  
  
"What's going on here?" She asked quietly.  
  
Malik shrugged his shoulders, and then began to follow the blood drawn trail slowly.  
  
Tea followed close behind him. They walked for a few moments, until they reached the double doors of the barn.  
  
Malik turned around to face Tea. "Are you sure you want to go in?" He asked gently.  
  
Tea nodded. "Yes, I want to." She replied, trying to sound as brave as she could.  
  
Malik tried to give her a reassuring smile, but he didn't succeed in making her feel any better.  
  
Finally, he turned around, and slowly pushed one of the huge doors open. He took a step forward, and felt Tea grab his hand.  
  
The pair walked forward together, now following a new trail of blood spots.  
  
Finally, they came upon a heap of body lying in a corner of the barn. Tea gasped loudly as she stared at the pile, looking absolutely horrified. She felt hot tears form in the back of her eyes, and they began to slide down her pink cheeks.  
  
Malik heard the little gasps coming from Tea, as he heard her cry. He stared at the body. Whoever had done this must have had a lot of time on their hands. The person had been murdered, and then the murderer had cut each of the limbs off, and carefully stacked the body in a neat pile.  
  
Tea buried her head in Malik's back and began to sob loudly.  
  
Malik turned around so that he was facing her. He gently took her into his arms, and rested his chin on the top of her head.  
  
She managed to calm herself a bit, but when Malik pulled away from her she had to turn around so that she wasn't facing the dismembered body.  
  
Malik turned back to examine the body closer. He noticed a plain white envelop lying right next to the body. He carefully knelt down and picked it up. The envelop wasn't sealed, so he pulled out the plain white piece of paper that it contained. The handwriting was very messy, and it looked like it had been written quickly.  
  
"Mokuba had been kidnapped. Tonight, you must come get him. We will be holding him at the old mansion on Baker Street. Bring us the new program Kaiba was working on for his company, and we will give him to you. If you call the police, he will be killed. If you don't show up at twelve a.m., he will be killed."  
  
Malik finally stood to his feet, clutching the letter tightly. "Tea." He said quietly.  
  
Tea spun around quickly, trying to avoid the body in the corner. "What is it?" She asked, tears still running down her cheeks.  
  
Malik handed her the letter, and Tea read it, her eyes widening. "Mokuba." She whispered brokenly.  
  
Malik frowned. "What are we going to do Tea?" He asked.  
  
Tea could only shrug.  
  
Twenty minutes later... The police had arrived on the scene, and they had just finished placing the body parts into a body bag, and carrying it out of the barn.  
  
"So, did you folks see the murder?" One of the policemen asked, as he interviewed the pair.  
  
Malik sighed. "No, we didn't." He stated rather coldly. An irritated look crossed Malik's features.  
  
The policeman nodded. "Well, did you two find anything else?" He asked, eyeing the teens closely.  
  
Malik glanced at Tea, the irritation leaving his face, and uneasiness replacing it. "No, we didn't." He replied, as he slid the note that they had found into the back pocket of his pants.  
  
The policeman nodded once again. "All right, you both can leave if you want to." He told the two.  
  
Malik and Tea jumped at the opportunity to leave, and they quickly rushed back to the car. Once they were back on the road, Malik decided to break the uneasy silence.  
  
"Tea, do you know where Kaiba's program is?" He asked the quiet girl.  
  
Tea turned to look at him. "Yes." She answered.  
  
"We're going to have to give it to the people who kidnapped Mokuba if we want him alive." Malik told her as he kept his eyes on the road.  
  
Tea nodded. "If we can stop by his house, I'll go in and get it." She replied.  
  
Malik nodded.  
  
When they reached the Kaiba mansion, both of them stepped onto the porch. Tea still had a key that he had given her, and she unlocked the door.  
  
Malik watched as Tea glanced around the all too familiar house.  
  
Tea turned to face him. "I have to run up to get it. I'll be right back." She told him, as she spun around, and began to run up the flight of stairs.  
  
Malik glanced around the room. He saw dozens of pictures of Kaiba and Tea together. They looked like they were having so much fun. His mind began to wander, until he noticed the brunette girl standing in front of him again.  
  
Tea was holding a silver colored disk in her hand. She had a grief- stricken look in her eyes.  
  
Malik eyes her carefully. "Tea, are you okay?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned.  
  
Tea shook her head, as tears threatened to push past the rim of her eyes gently. "I'm tired of going through this!" She exclaimed.  
  
Malik was a bit taken aback by her outburst. He watched as tears streamed down her cheek.  
  
"I'm sick of people getting hurt because of me." She whispered in a hushed voice. Her head hung in shame, and Malik could only look at her. He wasn't quite sure what to say to make her feel better, so he just wrapped his arms around the trembling girl, and the two just stood there together in the silence of the mansion.  
  
A.N: Yay! I updated! I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! I'm going to try and update tomorrow because I'm at my Dad's house in Arizona! So, like I said before, I hope you all enjoyed it, and please review! 


	11. Beauty in The Breakdown

A.N: Hello everyone! Yes, I'm back with chapter eleven now! See, I'm updating quickly. But, I'm afraid no one likes my story anymore, so I'm going to try and wrap it up soon. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!  
  
Help Me  
  
Malik was silent as he listened to Tea's quiet sobs. It hurt him to see her like this, but he felt like he couldn't say anything to comfort the girl.  
  
Finally, Tea took a deep breath to try and calm herself. She glanced up at Malik. "I'm sorry." She apologized, as she wiped the stray tears from her cheeks.  
  
Malik gave her a comforting smile.  
  
"I think it's just being in this house again." She said, as she looked around at all of the pictures.  
  
Malik nodded. "Well, let's go back home." He replied, as he gently took her free hand, and led her out the door.  
  
When the pair approached Tea's house, Tea noticed a violet colored convertible in her driveway. Her teary eyes widened as she tried to make out the figure inside of the car.  
  
Malik parked on the street in front of the house, and Tea quickly jumped out.  
  
"Tea! Be careful!" Malik called, as he watched the brunette rush over toward the unfamiliar car.  
  
Tea watched, as a figure stepped out of the convertible, and turned around to face her. Tea's eyes lit up when she saw who it was.  
  
"Mai?" Tea asked. The blonde smiled, and nodded her head, as she held her arms out to Tea.  
  
Tea was shocked, but also very happy when she saw her friend. She quickly ran over and threw her arms around Mai.  
  
"Oh, what's going on kiddo?" Mai asked, as she hugged her friend tightly.  
  
Tea glanced up at Mai. "Nothing, how are you?" She asked.  
  
Mai shrugged. "Well, I'm here." She replied, as she looked over at Malik, who was standing by Tea's car. "Well Tea, I see you've finally found yourself a man." Mai said teasingly.  
  
Malik smiled as he walked over to th4e two girls, who had finally ended their hug. "How ya doing Mai?" He asked, as he gave the blonde a friendly hug.  
  
Mai smirked. "Hey, are you taking care of my friend here?" She asked, arching an eyebrow at the Egyptian boy.  
  
Malik nodded his head. "Of coarse I am. I would never want to let you down Mai." He replied, as his smiled grew wider.  
  
Mai's smirk never left her face. "Good, because if you ever hurt Tea, I would have to kill you." She said teasingly.  
  
Tea smiled at Mai. "Well, do you want to come in, or should we just stand here all day?" Tea asked.  
  
Mai turned to face her friend. "Sure, let's go in, I really need a drink." She commented, as she smiled brightly.  
  
The three teens walked into the house together, and Tea and Mai both dropped their purses next to the door.  
  
"You guys have a seat and I'll go get drinks for us." Tea told them both. "What do you want to drink Mai?" She asked, eyeing her friend.  
  
Mai looked thoughtful. "Do you have any juice Tea?" She asked.  
  
Tea nodded. "I have apple juice, orange juice, and grapefruit juice." She answered.  
  
"I'll have orange juice." Mai replied. Tea nodded, and then turned to face Malik. "Do you want something Malik?" She asked.  
  
Malik thought for a moment. "I think I'll just have water." He said, as he smiled at the brunette.  
  
Tea returned the smile, and nodded as she walked out of the room.  
  
Mai eyed Malik, who was sitting on one of the chairs in the room. "So, had anything interesting happened while I've been gone?" She asked him, trying to make conversation.  
  
Malik turned his attention to the blonde sitting on the couch. "Huh, oh, no, nothing new." He replied uneasily.  
  
Mai raised an eyebrow. "Hun, are you okay?" She asked, now looking a bit concerned.  
  
Malik nodded his head. Of course he wasn't okay. There were people who were after them, but he wasn't about to drag Mai into this situation.  
  
Mai nodded, and was about to say something when the phone rang.  
  
The shrill sound of the phone shook Malik from his thoughts. He heard Tea from the kitchen.  
  
"I've got it!" She called. She came rushing out of the kitchen with a glass of orange juice in one hand, and a glass of ice water in the other hand. She made her way over to the phone, and set the glass of orange juice down on the small table so she could pick the phone up. She held it to her ear, and then held the phone in place with her shoulder, as she picked the juice back up again. "Hello?" She asked into the receiver.  
  
Mai watched as the brunette girl's expression changed from that of a happy one, to that of horror. Suddenly the drinks slid from her hands, and fell to the floor, shattering into thousands of tiny pieces on the hardwood floor. Water and juice collided together between tiny shards of glass, as the phone slid out of Tea's hands.  
  
Malik and Mai both jumped up and ran over to Tea, who had sunk to her knees, amidst all of the glass on the floor. The small pieces tore through her skin, but she didn't seem to feel the pain.  
  
Malik grabbed the phone and held it to his ear. "Who is this?" He asked frantically. "Who are you?" He screamed into the phone angrily.  
  
Mai had taken the shocked Tea into her arms and cradled her gently. "Tea, sweetie, please tell me what's wrong." She said. Tea's head rested against Mai's chest, and Mai stroked the girl's cheek gently.  
  
No one had responded to Malik over the phone, so he placed it back onto the receiver. He turned back to Mai and Tea. "Tea, who was it?" He asked, as he moved closer to the two.  
  
Tea turned her head slightly so that she was facing Malik. "Don't let them kill me." She whispered frantically.  
  
Mai's eyes widened as she watched Malik crawl over closer to them both.  
  
"They want to kill you?" He asked quietly.  
  
Tea nodded her head. "They said that if we don't come tonight, they'll come kill me, just the way the killed Seto." She whispered, her voice quivering slightly.  
  
"Kaiba is dead?" Mai asked, as she stared at both of the teens in disbelief.  
  
Malik nodded. "Yes." He replied.  
  
Tea gently took Malik's hand into her own. "Please, don't let them kill me." She said.  
  
Mai watched as the brunette girl began to cry softly. It broke her heart to see her best friend this way. Tears formed at the rims of her eyes. She wondered how long this had been going on.  
  
Malik looked uneasy as he squeezed Tea's hand. "They won't hurt you." He promised as he watched Tea sob quietly. He crawled the rest of the way over to the two girls and placed his arms around them.  
  
Mai was now crying as she held the brunette in her arms. When Malik had placed his arms around the both of them, she noticed tears running down his cheeks as well.  
  
The three sat on the floor, amidst the broken glass and spilled beverages, crying together, not knowing what was going to happen in the near future. The one thing they knew for sure though, was that they had each other, and that no person could take that away from them.  
  
It's alright, cause there's beauty in the breakdown...  
  
A.N: All right, another chapter completed! I'm on a roll now! Anyway, these last two chapters have been quite uneventful and well, to be blunt, boring. Now that Mai is on the scene, will she be able to help Tea and Malik? Next chapter, all of the action starts, so you really don't want to miss it! Oh, and one other thing, the last line of my story are part of lyrics from a song called 'Let Go', by a British pop duo that call themselves Frou Frou. I do not own this song, or Yu-Gi-Oh. 


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